52.167.144.179📋 Copy

# IP INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING

IP Address: 52.167.144.179/32

Classification: Microsoft Bingbot Crawler | Moderate Risk (40/100)

Report Generated: Current

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## EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

IP 52.167.144.179 is a Microsoft Bingbot search crawler operating from Microsoft's Madison, Wisconsin infrastructure. The IP presents moderate risk (40) primarily due to its assignment to a high-abuse density subnet (52.167.144.0/24), not from malicious activity itself. Evidence supports legitimate search engine crawler operations with standard DNS PTR records. No active threat indicators or attack signatures detected.

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## OWNERSHIP & INFRASTRUCTURE

The IP resolves to PTR hostname: `msnbot-52-167-144-179.search.msn.com` with forward DNS confirmation. Standard email authentication (SPF/DMARC) is configured for the msn.com domain.

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## THREAT ASSESSMENT

Risk Score: 40 (Moderate Risk)

Risk Indicators:

• No active threat indicators
• Not identified as known attacker
• No spam source classification
• No Tor exit node
• No blacklist membership
• No associated malware campaigns
• No certificate matches

Risk Context:

The moderate risk score is primarily driven by subnet-level environmental factors. The /24 subnet (52.167.144.0/24) exhibits high abuse density (0.5952) with 50 threat-sibling IPs and 58 active siblings out of 84 total IPs. This inherited risk elevation does not indicate malicious behavior from this specific IP.

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## OBSERVATION HISTORY

Total Observations: 22 signals tracked

Recent Activity:

• June 21, 2026: Operator score 0.3478 (Basic classification)
• June 16, 2026: Subnet abuse density confirmed at 0.5952
• No ownership changes detected
• No persistent malicious activity pattern
• Threat observation count: 0

Temporal Analysis:

• Ownership stability: Stable
• Threat persistence: None
• Route changes (30d): 0
• RPKI state: Valid
• DNSSEC: Valid

---

## NETWORK RELATIONSHIPS

Total Relationships: 18

Primary Associations:

• Multiple same-network relationships to MSFT (52.167.144.0/24)
• DNS associations to `msnbot-52-167-144-179.search.msn.com`
• No anomalous or suspicious third-party relationships
• No cross-organization or cross-network anomalies

Control Plane:

• Origin ASN: 8075 (Microsoft)
• BGP Prefix: 52.160.0.0/11
• Route stability: False
• DNSSEC Valid: True
• CAA Records: Present

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## NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS

Subnet: 52.167.144.0/24

Notable Neighbors:

• 52.167.144.18: Risk 50, Authority 60
• 52.167.144.21: Risk 40, Authority 60
• 52.167.144.16: Risk 40, Authority 60

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## SECURITY ACTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommended Action: BLOCK (with context)

Rationale: While this IP is a legitimate Microsoft Bingbot crawler, its assignment to a high-abuse subnet warrants traffic blocking. The recommendation should be evaluated in operational context—if search engine crawling is permitted, allow with rate limiting instead of block.

Firewall Rules:

```bash

# iptables

iptables -A INPUT -s 52.167.144.179 -j DROP

# nftables

nft add rule inet filter input ip saddr 52.167.144.179 drop

# nginx

deny 52.167.144.179;

# pfSense

52.167.144.179/32

# Cloudflare WAF

{"description":"Block 52.167.144.179 — IPDebrief risk score 40","action":"block","filter":{"expression":"ip.src eq 52.167.144.179"}}

# AWS WAF

{"Addresses":["52.167.144.179/32"],"Description":"IPDebrief risk 40"}

```

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## INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT

This IP represents legitimate search engine infrastructure operating within a high-abuse Microsoft cloud subnet. The moderate risk score is environment-driven rather than IP-intrinsic. No evidence of command-and-control, scanning, or attack activity.

Recommendation: If the organization permits search engine crawling traffic, this IP may be whitelisted or rate-limited. If strict threat containment is required, blocking is recommended due to subnet-level risk factors. Continuous monitoring advised for subnet 52.167.144.0/24.

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Data Sources: IPDebrief Intelligence Platform

Classification: Defensive Security Intelligence

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Verify critical details independently.