Harvesting SSH Credentials: Insights from My Honeypot Network

(uphillsecurity.com)

23 points | by whatbackup 3 hours ago ago

14 comments

  • daneel_w 2 hours ago ago

    No "credentials" are being "harvested" here. It's all worthless data, save for the statistics.

  • 0cf8612b2e1e an hour ago ago

    Do most installations create a git user account with login permissions?

    • inigyou an hour ago ago

      There's no such thing as an account with or without login permissions. Normally you need a git account. And that means you can log in to it. And then you have to try and configure your ssh server so that after logging into the git account, you can only run the git server (I forget the command). If a mistake is made with this configuration then you can log in or port forward or X forward or file transfer as git.

      This is a terrible idea because it's blacklist-based security. Places like GitHub have their own ssh server that only runs the git server and nothing else.

  • asveikau 2 hours ago ago

    Having a root password of "toor" is very clever. Nobody will figure that one out.

    • erulastiel 2 hours ago ago

      toor was a default password for many devices for decades.

      • asveikau 2 hours ago ago

        I've used unix-like OS's for 28 years and I don't remember coming across it as a password.

        It is a common username (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toor_(Unix) ), the machine I am typing this on has it.

        • PyWoody an hour ago ago

          It was the default password for the root user in Kali Linux for a while.

          • merpkz 9 minutes ago ago

            Back when it was called Backtrack if my memory serves right. I remember being puzzled that it was not the case anymore one day and they even switched to regular user around when Kali became a thing

      • pudgywalsh an hour ago ago

        Slackware used it in the late 90s IIRC.

    • sisve an hour ago ago

      Did you check out the statistics on the site? They listed 1233456, 12345, 1234,123 and 1 on the toplist of password.

      If we are going to be clever we should follow the statistics and go for 12 that where not on the toplist!!

      • youareinsuffera an hour ago ago

        Or even better, 21. Reverse it to add another layer of obfuscation.

        • whatbackup an hour ago ago

          You are right.

          12 - Rank 318

          21 - Rank 523

          I'm surprised that '12' is so low on the list.