This morning the SSH scan detector software that I run (DenyHosts) sent me an email indicating that it had detected a SSH scan and blocked the host.

The host name it reported did not appear to be a dynamic host (like those usually assigned by DSL provider), so did a little digging to identify who owned the system.

I notified Terry about the problem … and they replied …

I just checked the .100 address and found that I had (in an unbelievable amount of stupidity) left a test account on the system, and someone from Italy was actively engaged in running an SSH scan from that account. I contacted their ISP, hopefully they will do something about it. I removed the account, and will be taking the machine down momentarily to be rebuilt after I back some data off of it. How embarrassing. Thanks for letting me know. I suppose it is time for me to install that bridging firewall running snort I’ve been meaning to build… gah!

Glad I could help, Terry. Chalk one up for the good guys.

[tags]ssh, security, linux[/tags]