## IP Intelligence Briefing: 198.244.168.40/32
Classification: Moderate Risk / Cloud Infrastructure
Date of Assessment: Current
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Executive Summary
IP address 198.244.168.40 is a cloud-hosted infrastructure endpoint associated with OVH (ASN: 16276) operating within a high-abuse subnet environment. The IP is registered under Ahrefs Pte Ltd Dmytro and resolves to proxy-uk001-san40.ahrefs.net. While the IP shows no active threat indicators, it operates in a subnet with 75.39% abuse density and has been listed on 1 of 8 DNS blocklists.
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Technical Profile
- IP Address: 198.244.168.40
- Risk Score: 40/100 (Moderate Risk)
- ASN: 16276 (OVH)
- Organization: Ahrefs Pte Ltd Dmytro
- Geolocation: London, England, GB (reported from multiple sources with 750km accuracy radius)
- Network Role: Cloud Compute / Hosting Infrastructure
- DNS Resolution: proxy-uk001-san40.ahrefs.net (ahrefs.net domain)
- Service Status: Firewalled / No Open Ports Detected
- TLS/Certificate: Not available
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Threat Indicators & Reputation
- Blacklist Status: Listed on 1 DNSBL out of 8 total lists monitored
- Known Attacker: No
- Tor Exit Node: No
- Spam Source: No
- Active Threat Campaigns: None detected
- Operator Score: 0.2174 (Minimal)
- Route Stability: Unstable (route changes detected in 30-day window)
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Neighborhood Analysis
The IP resides in subnet 198.244.168.0/24 with significant abuse correlation:
- Abuse Density: 0.7539 (High)
- Subnet Classification: high_abuse
- Active Siblings: 191 of 256 IPs
- Threat Siblings: 193 IPs with threat indicators
- Neighbor Risk Distribution: 100 medium-risk IPs (risk score: 40)
This indicates the IP is embedded within a heavily utilized OVH hosting environment with elevated abuse activity.
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Historical Observations
- Total Observations: 23 signal events recorded
- Latest Activity: 2026-06-20 (DNS resolution, control plane data)
- Previous Notable Observation: 2026-06-15 (subnet abuse density confirmation, OVH ASN association)
- Threat Persistence: 0 days (no persistent malicious activity detected)
Geolocation data has shown some inconsistency between GB (primary) and FR (OVH headquarters) across different signal sources.
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Relationships
- Network Associations: 34 relationships identified, primarily same-network connections to OVH infrastructure (OVH_282347337)
- No certificate or hostname relationships detected
- No correlated IPs or campaign links
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Recommended Actions
- Firewall Rules: No specific blocking recommended; monitor for abuse patterns
- Monitoring: Track for DNS query anomalies and outbound connection attempts
- Context: Legitimate cloud hosting IP for Ahrefs; false positives possible due to high-abuse subnet environment
- Threshold: Consider blocking if outbound connections originate from this IP to external command-and-control infrastructure
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Intelligence Assessment
This IP represents legitimate cloud hosting infrastructure for a known SEO analytics company (Ahrefs). However, the high-abuse subnet environment and single DNSBL listing suggest potential for false-positive abuse reports. No evidence of active malicious use has been detected. SOC analysts should monitor for behavioral changes but may classify as low-priority for immediate blocking.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Verify critical details independently.
๐ข Ownership & Registration
| Organization | Ahrefs Pte Ltd Dmytro |
| ASN | AS16276 |
| Network Name | โ |
| CIDR Block | โ |
| RIR | ARIN |
| Country | โ |
| Abuse Contact | Available via RDAP |
๐ DNS Intelligence
| PTR | proxy-uk001-san40.ahrefs.net |
| Forward Confirmed | No โ PTR hostname does not resolve back to this IP (weak signal) |
| Forward Hostnames | proxy-uk001-san40.ahrefs.net |
๐ DNS Hygiene
| Hygiene Score | 40% (Fair) |
| SPF | Not configured |
| DMARC | Not configured |
| FCrDNS | Not verified |
| DNSSEC | Valid |
| CAA | Present |
โ๏ธ Network Classification
| Infrastructure | Infrastructure / Datacenter |
| Service Purpose | Firewalled / No Services |
| Network Tier | Hosting โ Infrastructure provider without advanced routing |
๐ Services & Open Ports
| Port | Service | Protocol | Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| No open ports detected | |||
| Closed Ports | 22, 25, 80, 443, 3389, 8080, 8443 (0 open / 7 scanned) | ||
| Server | โ |
| HTTP Title | โ |
๐ TLS Certificate
| SANs | None |
| Valid From | โ |
| Valid Until | โ |
๐ฏ Confidence Breakdown
Per-dimension confidence scores based on source diversity and data freshness
| Dimension | Score | Sources | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|
| threat | 35% | 2 | 3 |
| routing | 13% | 1 | 1 |
| services | 12% | 2 | 2 |
| ownership | 20% | 2 | 3 |
| reputation | 22% | 1 | 2 |
| geolocation | 39% | 2 | 3 |
| Overall | 24% | 10 | 14 |
| Data Coherence | Consistent (100%) |
| Attribution | Moderate (50%) |
| OwnershipFCrDNSGeo ConsensusGeo PlausibleIRR MatchRPKI Valid |
๐ Observation Timeline ๐ Live
| First Seen | 2026-05-19 15:38:27 UTC |
| Last Seen | 2026-06-28 09:07:23 UTC |
| Profile Built | 2026-06-29 03:12:47 UTC |
| Data Freshness | Live |
| Signal Types | 21 |
| Total Observations | 25 |
Full dossier details are available via our API.