## IP Intelligence Briefing: 202.8.42.188/32
Classification: Low Risk - Legitimate Crawler Infrastructure
Date: 2026-07-30
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**Executive Summary**
IP address 202.8.42.188 is identified as part of Ahrefs' crawler infrastructure (AHREFS-CRAWLER-B-USA). The address presents low risk (score: 25) with no active threat indicators. This is legitimate SEO tool infrastructure operating from the Ahrefs network.
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**Ownership & Network Context**
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Organization | Ahrefs Pte Ltd administrator |
| ASN | 140577 |
| Network | 202.8.42.0/23 |
| RIR | APNIC |
| Netname | AHREFS-CRAWLER-B-USA |
| DNS PTR | sardine700.ahrefs.net |
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**Threat Assessment**
- Risk Score: 25 (Low Risk)
- Abuse Confidence: Not applicable
- Known Campaigns: None
- Blacklist Status: 1 DNSBL listing out of 8 total lists
- Tor Exit/Proxy/VPN: False
- Persistent Malicious Activity: False
Threat Indicators: None observed. No known attacker signatures, spam source activity, or campaign associations detected.
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**Service & Port Analysis**
- Open Ports: TCP/22 (SSH - OpenSSH_10.0p2 Debian)
- HTTP/HTTPS: No web services detected
- TLS Certificate: None
- Network Role: Single-Service Host
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**Geolocation Data**
- Primary Location: Singapore (SG)
- Secondary Location: VA, Ashburn (USA) - Data discrepancy noted
- Coordinates: 1.35°N, 103.82°E
- Timezone: Asia/Singapore
- Route Stability: Unstable (false)
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**Subnet Neighborhood Analysis**
Scope: 202.8.42.0/24
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Siblings | 157 |
| Active Siblings | 68 |
| Threat Siblings | 20 |
| Abuse Density | 0.00 (0%) |
| Risk Classification | Mostly Clean |
| Inherited Risk | 5 |
Risk Distribution in Subnet:
- High Risk: 0 IPs
- Medium Risk: 6 IPs
- Low Risk: 89 IPs
The /24 subnet exhibits minimal abuse activity with the majority of addresses classified as low risk.
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**Relationship Graph**
Detected Relationships: 11
- DNS Associations: sardine700.ahrefs.net (repeated)
- Network Associations: AHREFS-CRAWLER-B-USA (repeated)
All relationships confirm association with Ahrefs infrastructure.
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**Historical Trend Analysis**
Observation Period: 20 observations (2026-07-30)
- Ownership Changes: 0
- Threat Persistence Days: 0
- Threat Observation Count: 0
- Campaign Likelihood: None
- Trend: Stable, consistent low-risk profile
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**Recommended Actions**
For SOC Teams:
1. Block: Not recommended - this is legitimate Ahrefs crawler infrastructure
2. Monitor: Low-priority monitoring sufficient
3. Allow: Normal traffic permitted
Firewall Rules:
- No restrictive rules required for this IP
- Standard rate limiting applies if applicable
---
**Intelligence Conclusions**
1. 202.8.42.188 is a legitimate Ahrefs crawler IP used for SEO data collection
2. No malicious activity, campaign associations, or threat indicators observed
3. Subnet neighborhood (202.8.42.0/24) is predominantly clean with minimal abuse
4. SSH service exposure is normal for server infrastructure
5. Single DNSBL listing is within acceptable parameters for crawler infrastructure
6. No action required beyond standard logging
Disposition: ALLOW with standard logging. No threat mitigation necessary.
---
*Generated by IPDebrief Intelligence Platform*
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Verify critical details independently.
π’ Ownership & Registration
| Organization | Ahrefs Pte Ltd administrator |
| ASN | AS140577 |
| Network Name | AHREFS-CRAWLER-B-USA |
| CIDR Block | 202.8.42.0/23 |
| RIR | APNIC |
| Country | US |
| Abuse Contact | Available via RDAP |
π DNS Intelligence
| PTR | sardine700.ahrefs.net |
| Forward Confirmed | Yes β FCrDNS verified |
| Forward Hostnames | sardine700.ahrefs.net |
π DNS Hygiene
| Hygiene Score | 60% (Good) |
| SPF | Not configured |
| DMARC | Not configured |
| FCrDNS | Verified |
| DNSSEC | Valid |
| CAA | Present |
βοΈ Network Classification
| Infrastructure | Unknown |
| Service Purpose | Single-Service Host |
| Network Tier | Tier 3 β Basic operator with some routing infrastructure |
π Services & Open Ports
| Port | Service | Protocol | Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | ssh | tcp | |
| Closed Ports | 25, 80, 443, 3389, 8080, 8443 (1 open / 7 scanned) | ||
| Server | β |
| HTTP Title | β |
| SSH Version | SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_10.0p2 Debian-7+deb13u4 |
π TLS Certificate
| SANs | None |
| Valid From | β |
| Valid Until | β |
π― Confidence Breakdown
Per-dimension confidence scores based on source diversity and data freshness
| Dimension | Score | Sources | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|
| threat | 25% | 1 | 1 |
| routing | 25% | 1 | 1 |
| services | 25% | 1 | 1 |
| ownership | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| reputation | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| geolocation | 25% | 1 | 1 |
| Overall | 16% | 4 | 4 |
| Data Coherence | Consistent (100%) |
| Attribution | Moderate (70%) |
| OwnershipFCrDNSGeo ConsensusGeo PlausibleIRR MatchRPKI Valid |
π Observation Timeline π Live
| First Seen | 2026-07-25 08:45:19 UTC |
| Last Seen | 2026-07-30 03:13:04 UTC |
| Profile Built | 2026-07-30 03:23:08 UTC |
| Data Freshness | Live |
| Signal Types | 21 |
| Total Observations | 21 |
Full dossier details are available via our API.