202.8.42.198
IP Intelligence Briefing: 202.8.42.198
Date: 2026-06-09
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**1. IP Profile**
- Risk Score: Moderate (50/100)
- Ownership:
- ASN: 140577
- Organization: Ahrefs Pte Ltd (crawler network)
- Network: AHREFS-CRAWLER-B-USA (APNIC)
- Geolocation:
- Country: United States (VA, Ashburn)
- Coordinates: 39.05°N, -77.49°E
- Threat Indicators:
- No malicious indicators, abuse confidence score not reported.
- Not listed in DNSBLs, Tor exits, or known attacker campaigns.
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**2. Observation History**
- Signals Detected:
- DNSSEC validation, CAA records, and geolocation consistency.
- No persistent threat activity; 0 threat observations in 30 days.
- Network Stability:
- BGP route stability: Unstable (route changes detected).
- No DNS hijacking or spoofing observed.
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**3. Relationships**
- DNS Associations:
- Linked to `sardine710.ahrefs.net` (likely a crawler node).
- Network Affiliation:
- Subnet: 202.8.42.0/23 (shared with Ahrefs crawler infrastructure).
- Certificates/TLS:
- No TLS certificates or HTTP services detected.
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**4. Neighborhood Analysis**
- Subnet: 202.8.42.0/23 (100 IPs total).
- Risk Distribution:
- Low Risk: 60 IPs (avg. score: 25).
- Medium Risk: 40 IPs (avg. score: 50).
- Notable Neighbors:
- `202.8.42.8`, `202.8.42.13`, and `202.8.42.15` show medium risk.
- Subnet abuse density: 0% (no known malicious activity).
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**5. Recommendations**
- Monitor Subnet: Track medium-risk neighbors for unusual activity.
- Verify DNS: Confirm legitimacy of `sardine710.ahrefs.net` (Ahrefs crawler nodes are generally benign).
- Firewall Rules:
- Allow traffic to 202.8.42.198 if required for crawling, but restrict outbound to the subnet to mitigate potential lateral movement.
- Geolocation Validation: Ensure traffic from this IP aligns with expected crawler behavior in Ashburn, VA.
Conclusion: This IP is part of a legitimate Ahrefs crawler network with no direct malicious indicators. However, the subnet contains medium-risk IPs, warranting further investigation into potential collateral compromise.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Verify critical details independently.
🏢 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 |
🌐 DNS Intelligence
| PTR | sardine710.ahrefs.net |
| Forward Confirmed | Yes — FCrDNS verified |
| Forward Hostnames | sardine710.ahrefs.net |
🔐 DNS Hygiene
| Hygiene Score | 40% (Fair) |
| SPF | Not configured |
| DMARC | Not configured |
| FCrDNS | Verified |
| DNSSEC | Not signed |
| CAA | Present |
☁️ Network Classification
| Infrastructure | Unknown |
| Service Purpose | Firewalled / No Services |
| Network Tier | Tier 3 — Basic operator with some routing infrastructure |
🔌 Services & Open Ports
| Port | Service | Protocol | Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| No open ports detected | |||
| Server | — |
| HTTP Title | — |
🔐 TLS Certificate
| SANs | None |
| Valid From | — |
| Valid Until | — |
🎯 Confidence Breakdown
Per-dimension confidence scores based on source diversity and data freshness
| Dimension | Score | Sources | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|
| threat | 13% | 1 | 1 |
| routing | 13% | 1 | 1 |
| services | 13% | 1 | 1 |
| ownership | 30% | 2 | 3 |
| reputation | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| geolocation | 13% | 1 | 1 |
| Overall | 14% | 6 | 7 |
| Data Coherence | Consistent (100%) |
| Attribution | Moderate (70%) |
| OwnershipFCrDNSGeo ConsensusGeo PlausibleIRR MatchRPKI Valid |
📅 Observation Timeline 🔄 Live
| First Seen | 2026-05-21 14:57:06 UTC |
| Last Seen | 2026-06-09 11:20:00 UTC |
| Profile Built | 2026-06-09 11:41:02 UTC |
| Data Freshness | Live |
| Signal Types | 17 |
| Total Observations | 17 |
Full dossier details are available via our API.