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Free to use IOC feed for various tools/malware. It started out for just C2 tools but has morphed into tracking infostealers and botnets as well. It uses shodan.io/">Shodan searches to collect the IPs. The most recent collection is always stored in data; the IPs are broken down by tool and there is an all.txt.
The feed should update daily. Actively working on making the backend more reliable
Many of the Shodan queries have been sourced from other CTI researchers:
Huge shoutout to them!
Thanks to BertJanCyber for creating the KQL query for ingesting this feed
And finally, thanks to Y_nexro for creating C2Live in order to visualize the data
If you want to host a private version, put your Shodan API key in an environment variable called SHODAN_API_KEY
FreshRSS echo SHODAN_API_KEY=API_KEY >> ~/.bashrc
bash
python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 tracker.py
I encourage opening an issue/PR if you know of any additional Shodan searches for identifying adversary infrastructure. I will not set any hard guidelines around what can be submitted, just know, fidelity is paramount (high true/false positive ratio is the focus).
Feel free to make suggestions
Find devices in a particular city. city:"Bangalore"
Find devices in a particular country. country:"IN"
Find devices by giving geographical coordinates. geo:"56.913055,118.250862"
country:us country:ru country:de city:chicago
Find devices matching the hostname. server: "gws" hostname:"google" hostname:example.com -hostname:subdomain.example.com hostname:example.com,example.org
Find devices based on an IP address or /x CIDR. net:210.214.0.0/16
org:microsoft org:"United States Department"
asn:ASxxxx
Find devices based on operating system. os:"windows 7"
Find devices based on open ports. proftpd port:21
Find devices before or after between a given time. apache after:22/02/2009 before:14/3/2010
Self signed certificates ssl.cert.issuer.cn:example.com ssl.cert.subject.cn:example.com
Expired certificates ssl.cert.expired:true
ssl.cert.subject.cn:example.com
device:firewall device:router device:wap device:webcam device:media device:"broadband router" device:pbx device:printer device:switch device:storage device:specialized device:phone device:"voip" device:"voip phone" device:"voip adaptor" device:"load balancer" device:"print server" device:terminal device:remote device:telecom device:power device:proxy device:pda device:bridge
os:"windows 7" os:"windows server 2012" os:"linux 3.x"
product:apache product:nginx product:android product:chromecast
cpe:apple cpe:microsoft cpe:nginx cpe:cisco
server: nginx server: apache server: microsoft server: cisco-ios
dc:14:de:8e:d7:c1:15:43:23:82:25:81:d2:59:e8:c0
http.html:/dana-na
http.title:"Index of /" http.html:".pem"
onion-location
"product:MySQL" mysql port:"3306"
"product:MongoDB" mongodb port:27017
"MongoDB Server Information { "metrics":" "Set-Cookie: mongo-express=" "200 OK" "MongoDB Server Information" port:27017 -authentication
kibana content-legth:217
port:9200 json port:"9200" all:elastic port:"9200" all:"elastic indices"
"product:Memcached"
"product:CouchDB" port:"5984"+Server: "CouchDB/2.1.0"
"port:5432 PostgreSQL"
"port:8087 Riak"
"product:Redis"
"product:Cassandra"
"Server: Prismview Player"
"in-tank inventory" port:10001
No auth required to access CLI terminal. "privileged command" GET
P372 "ANPR enabled"
mikrotik streetlight
"voter system serial" country:US
May allow for ATM Access availability NCR Port:"161"
"Cisco IOS" "ADVIPSERVICESK9_LI-M"
"[2J[H Encartele Confidential"
http.title:"Tesla PowerPack System" http.component:"d3" -ga3ca4f2
"Server: gSOAP/2.8" "Content-Length: 583"
Shodan made a pretty sweet Ship Tracker that maps ship locations in real time, too!
"Cobham SATCOM" OR ("Sailor" "VSAT")
title:"Slocum Fleet Mission Control"
"Server: CarelDataServer" "200 Document follows"
http.title:"Nordex Control" "Windows 2000 5.0 x86" "Jetty/3.1 (JSP 1.1; Servlet 2.2; java 1.6.0_14)"
"[1m[35mWelcome on console"
Secured by default, thankfully, but these 1,700+ machines still have no business being on the internet.
"DICOM Server Response" port:104
"Server: EIG Embedded Web Server" "200 Document follows"
"Siemens, SIMATIC" port:161
"Server: Microsoft-WinCE" "Content-Length: 12581"
"HID VertX" port:4070
"log off" "select the appropriate"
Helps to find the charging status of tesla powerpack. http.title:"Tesla PowerPack System" http.component:"d3" -ga3ca4f2
title:"xzeres wind"
"html:"PIPS Technology ALPR Processors""
"port:502"
"port:1911,4911 product:Niagara"
"port:18245,18246 product:"general electric""
"port:5006,5007 product:mitsubishi"
"port:2455 operating system"
"port:102"
"port:47808"
"port:5094 hart-ip"
"port:9600 response code"
"port:2404 asdu address"
"port:20000 source address"
"port:44818"
"port:1962 PLC"
"port:789 product:"Red Lion Controls"
"port:20547 PLC"
"authentication disabled" port:5900,5901 "authentication disabled" "RFB 003.008"
99.99% are secured by a secondary Windows login screen.
"\x03\x00\x00\x0b\x06\xd0\x00\x00\x124\x00"
product:"cobalt strike team server" product:"Cobalt Strike Beacon" ssl.cert.serial:146473198 - default certificate serial number ssl.jarm:07d14d16d21d21d07c42d41d00041d24a458a375eef0c576d23a7bab9a9fb1 ssl:foren.zik
http.html_hash:-1957161625 product:"Brute Ratel C4"
ssl:"Covenant" http.component:"Blazor"
ssl:"MetasploitSelfSignedCA"
Routers which got compromised hacked-router-help-sos
product:"Redis key-value store"
Find Citrix Gateway. title:"citrix gateway"
Command-line access inside Kubernetes pods and Docker containers, and real-time visualization/monitoring of the entire infrastructure.
title:"Weave Scope" http.favicon.hash:567176827
"X-Jenkins" "Set-Cookie: JSESSIONID" http.title:"Dashboard"
Jenkins Unrestricted Dashboard x-jenkins 200
"Docker Containers:" port:2375
"Docker-Distribution-Api-Version: registry" "200 OK" -gitlab
"dnsmasq-pi-hole" "Recursion: enabled"
"port: 53" Recursion: Enabled
"root@" port:23 -login -password -name -Session
NO password required for telnet access. port:23 console gateway
"polycom command shell"
nport -keyin port:23
A tangential result of Google's sloppy fractured update approach. 🙄 More information here.
"Android Debug Bridge" "Device" port:5555
Lantronix password port:30718 -secured
"Citrix Applications:" port:1604
Vulnerable (kind of "by design," but especially when exposed).
"smart install client active"
PBX "gateway console" -password port:23
http.title:"- Polycom" "Server: lighttpd" "Polycom Command Shell" -failed port:23
"Polycom Command Shell" -failed port:23
Example: Polycom Video Conferencing
"Server: Bomgar" "200 OK"
"Intel(R) Active Management Technology" port:623,664,16992,16993,16994,16995 "Active Management Technology"
HP-ILO-4 !"HP-ILO-4/2.53" !"HP-ILO-4/2.54" !"HP-ILO-4/2.55" !"HP-ILO-4/2.60" !"HP-ILO-4/2.61" !"HP-ILO-4/2.62" !"HP-iLO-4/2.70" port:1900
"Press Enter for Setup Mode port:9999"
Helps to find the cleartext wifi passwords in Shodan. html:"def_wirelesspassword"
The wp-config.php if accessed can give out the database credentials. http.html:"* The wp-config.php creation script uses this file"
"x-owa-version" "IE=EmulateIE7" "Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.0"
"x-owa-version" "IE=EmulateIE7" http.favicon.hash:442749392
"X-AspNet-Version" http.title:"Outlook" -"x-owa-version"
"X-MS-Server-Fqdn"
Produces ~500,000 results...narrow down by adding "Documents" or "Videos", etc.
"Authentication: disabled" port:445
"Authentication: disabled" NETLOGON SYSVOL -unix port:445
"Authentication: disabled" "Shared this folder to access QuickBooks files OverNetwork" -unix port:445
"220" "230 Login successful." port:21
"Set-Cookie: iomega=" -"manage/login.html" -http.title:"Log In"
Redirecting sencha port:9000
"Server: Logitech Media Server" "200 OK"
Example: Logitech Media Servers
"X-Plex-Protocol" "200 OK" port:32400
"CherryPy/5.1.0" "/home"
"IPC$ all storage devices"
title:camera
webcam has_screenshot:true
"d-Link Internet Camera, 200 OK"
"Hipcam RealServer/V1.0"
"Server: yawcam" "Mime-Type: text/html"
("webcam 7" OR "webcamXP") http.component:"mootools" -401
"Server: IP Webcam Server" "200 OK"
html:"DVR_H264 ActiveX"
With username:admin and password: :P NETSurveillance uc-httpd Server: uc-httpd 1.0.0
"Serial Number:" "Built:" "Server: HP HTTP"
ssl:"Xerox Generic Root"
"SERVER: EPSON_Linux UPnP" "200 OK"
"Server: EPSON-HTTP" "200 OK"
"Server: KS_HTTP" "200 OK"
"Server: CANON HTTP Server"
"Server: AV_Receiver" "HTTP/1.1 406"
Apple TVs, HomePods, etc.
"\x08_airplay" port:5353
"Chromecast:" port:8008
"Model: PYNG-HUB"
"Server: calibre" http.status:200 http.title:calibre
title:"OctoPrint" -title:"Login" http.favicon.hash:1307375944
"ETH - Total speed"
Substitute .pem with any extension or a filename like phpinfo.php.
http.title:"Index of /" http.html:".pem"
Exposed wp-config.php files containing database credentials.
http.html:"* The wp-config.php creation script uses this file"
"Minecraft Server" "protocol 340" port:25565
net:175.45.176.0/22,210.52.109.0/24,77.94.35.0/24
During reconaissance phase or when doing OSINT , we often use google dorking and shodan and thus the idea of Dorkish.
Dorkish is a Chrome extension tool that facilitates custom dork creation for Google and Shodan using the builder and it offers prebuilt dorks for efficient reconnaissance and OSINT engagement.
1- Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yousseflahouifi/dorkish.git
2- Go to chrome://extensions/ and enable the Developer mode in the top right corner.
3- click on Load unpacked extension button and select the dorkish folder.
Note: For firefox users , you can find the extension here : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dorkish/
Once you have found or built the dork you need, simply click it and click search. This will direct you to the desired search engine, Shodan or Google, with the specific dork you've entered. Then, you can explore and enjoy the results that match your query.
I have built some dorks and I have used some public resources to gather the dorks , here's few : - https://github.com/lothos612/shodan - https://github.com/TakSec/google-dorks-bug-bounty
NetworkSherlock is a powerful and flexible port scanning tool designed for network security professionals and penetration testers. With its advanced capabilities, NetworkSherlock can efficiently scan IP ranges, CIDR blocks, and multiple targets. It stands out with its detailed banner grabbing capabilities across various protocols and integration with Shodan, the world's premier service for scanning and analyzing internet-connected devices. This Shodan integration enables NetworkSherlock to provide enhanced scanning capabilities, giving users deeper insights into network vulnerabilities and potential threats. By combining local port scanning with Shodan's extensive database, NetworkSherlock offers a comprehensive tool for identifying and analyzing network security issues.
NetworkSherlock requires Python 3.6 or later.
git clone https://github.com/HalilDeniz/NetworkSherlock.gitpip install -r requirements.txtUpdate the networksherlock.cfg file with your Shodan API key:
[SHODAN]
api_key = YOUR_SHODAN_API_KEYpython3 networksherlock.py --help
usage: networksherlock.py [-h] [-p PORTS] [-t THREADS] [-P {tcp,udp}] [-V] [-s SAVE_RESULTS] [-c] target
NetworkSherlock: Port Scan Tool
positional arguments:
target Target IP address(es), range, or CIDR (e.g., 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.5,
192.168.1.0/24)
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-p PORTS, --ports PORTS
Ports to scan (e.g. 1-1024, 21,22,80, or 80)
-t THREADS, --threads THREADS
Number of threads to use
-P {tcp,udp}, --protocol {tcp,udp}
Protocol to use for scanning
-V, --version-info Used to get version information
-s SAVE_RESULTS, --save-results SAVE_RESULTS
File to save scan results
-c, --ping-check Perform ping check before scanning
--use-shodan Enable Shodan integration for additional information
target: The target IP address(es), IP range, or CIDR block to scan.-p, --ports: Ports to scan (e.g., 1-1000, 22,80,443).-t, --threads: Number of threads to use.-P, --protocol: Protocol to use for scanning (tcp or udp).-V, --version-info: Obtain version information during banner grabbing.-s, --save-results: Save results to the specified file.-c, --ping-check: Perform a ping check before scanning.--use-shodan: Enable Shodan integration.Scan a single IP address on default ports:
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1Scan an IP address with a custom range of ports:
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1 -p 1-1024Scan multiple IP addresses on specific ports:
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1,192.168.1.2 -p 22,80,443Scan an entire subnet using CIDR notation:
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.0/24 -p 80Perform a scan using multiple threads for faster execution:
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.5 -p 1-1024 -t 20Scan using a specific protocol (TCP or UDP):
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1 -p 53 -P udppython networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1 --use-shodanpython networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1,192.168.1.2 -p 22,80,443 -V --use-shodanPerform a detailed scan with banner grabbing and save results to a file:
python networksherlock.py 192.168.1.1 -p 1-1000 -V -s results.txtScan an IP range after performing a ping check:
python networksherlock.py 10.0.0.1-10.0.0.255 -c$ python3 networksherlock.py 10.0.2.12 -t 25 -V -p 21-6000 -t 25
********************************************
Scanning target: 10.0.2.12
Scanning IP : 10.0.2.12
Ports : 21-6000
Threads : 25
Protocol : tcp
---------------------------------------------
Port Status Service VERSION
22 /tcp open ssh SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_4.7p1 Debian-8ubuntu1
21 /tcp open telnet 220 (vsFTPd 2.3.4)
80 /tcp open http HTTP/1.1 200 OK
139 /tcp open netbios-ssn %SMBr
25 /tcp open smtp 220 metasploitable.localdomain ESMTP Postfix (Ubuntu)
23 /tcp open smtp #' #'
445 /tcp open microsoft-ds %SMBr
514 /tcp open shell
512 /tcp open exec Where are you?
1524/tcp open ingreslock ro ot@metasploitable:/#
2121/tcp open iprop 220 ProFTPD 1.3.1 Server (Debian) [::ffff:10.0.2.12]
3306/tcp open mysql >
5900/tcp open unknown RFB 003.003
53 /tcp open domain
---------------------------------------------$ python3 networksherlock.py 10.0.2.0/24 -t 10 -V -p 21-1000
********************************************
Scanning target: 10.0.2.1
Scanning IP : 10.0.2.1
Ports : 21-1000
Threads : 10
Protocol : tcp
---------------------------------------------
Port Status Service VERSION
53 /tcp open domain
********************************************
Scanning target: 10.0.2.2
Scanning IP : 10.0.2.2
Ports : 21-1000
Threads : 10
Protocol : tcp
---------------------------------------------
Port Status Service VERSION
445 /tcp open microsoft-ds
135 /tcp open epmap
********************************************
Scanning target: 10.0.2.12
Scanning IP : 10.0.2.12
Ports : 21- 1000
Threads : 10
Protocol : tcp
---------------------------------------------
Port Status Service VERSION
21 /tcp open ftp 220 (vsFTPd 2.3.4)
22 /tcp open ssh SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_4.7p1 Debian-8ubuntu1
23 /tcp open telnet #'
80 /tcp open http HTTP/1.1 200 OK
53 /tcp open kpasswd 464/udpcp
445 /tcp open domain %SMBr
3306/tcp open mysql >
********************************************
Scanning target: 10.0.2.20
Scanning IP : 10.0.2.20
Ports : 21-1000
Threads : 10
Protocol : tcp
---------------------------------------------
Port Status Service VERSION
22 /tcp open ssh SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_8.2p1 Ubuntu-4ubuntu0.9Contributions are welcome! To contribute to NetworkSherlock, follow these steps:
For the past seven years, a malware-based proxy service known as “Faceless” has sold anonymity to countless cybercriminals. For less than a dollar per day, Faceless customers can route their malicious traffic through tens of thousands of compromised systems advertised on the service. In this post we’ll examine clues left behind over the past decade by the proprietor of Faceless, including some that may help put a face to the name.
The proxy lookup page inside the malware-based anonymity service Faceless. Image: spur.us.
Riley Kilmer is co-founder of Spur.us, a company that tracks thousands of VPN and proxy networks, and helps customers identify traffic coming through these anonymity services. Kilmer said Faceless has emerged as one of the underground’s most reliable malware-based proxy services, mainly because its proxy network has traditionally included a great many compromised “Internet of Things” devices — such as media sharing servers — that are seldom included on malware or spam block lists.
Kilmer said when Spur first started looking into Faceless, they noticed almost every Internet address that Faceless advertised for rent also showed up in the IoT search engine Shodan.io as a media sharing device on a local network that was somehow exposed to the Internet.
“We could reliably look up the [fingerprint] for these media sharing devices in Shodan and find those same systems for sale on Faceless,” Kilmer said.
In January 2023, the Faceless service website said it was willing to pay for information about previously undocumented security vulnerabilities in IoT devices. Those with IoT zero-days could expect payment if their exploit involved at least 5,000 systems that could be identified through Shodan.
Notices posted for Faceless users, advertising an email flooding service and soliciting zero-day vulnerabilities in Internet of Things devices.
Recently, Faceless has shown ambitions beyond just selling access to poorly-secured IoT devices. In February, Faceless re-launched a service that lets users drop an email bomb on someone — causing the target’s inbox to be filled with tens of thousands of junk messages.
And in March 2023, Faceless started marketing a service for looking up Social Security Numbers (SSNs) that claims to provide access to “the largest SSN database on the market with a very high hit rate.”
Kilmer said Faceless wants to become a one-stop-fraud-shop for cybercriminals who are seeking stolen or synthetic identities from which to transact online, and a temporary proxy that is geographically close to the identity being sold. Faceless currently sells this bundled product for $9 — $8 for the identity and $1 for the proxy.
“They’re trying to be this one-stop shop for anonymity and personas,” Kilmer said. “The service basically says ‘here’s an SSN and proxy connection that should correspond to that user’s location and make sense to different websites.'”
Faceless is a project from MrMurza, a particularly talkative member of more than a dozen Russian-language cybercrime forums over the past decade. According to cyber intelligence firm Flashpoint, MrMurza has been active in the Russian underground since at least September 2012. Flashpoint said MrMurza appears to be extensively involved in botnet activity and “drops” — fraudulent bank accounts created using stolen identity data that are often used in money laundering and cash-out schemes.
Faceless grew out of a popular anonymity service called iSocks, which was launched in 2014 and advertised on multiple Russian crime forums as a proxy service that customers could use to route their malicious Web traffic through compromised computers.
Flashpoint says that in the months before iSocks went online, MrMurza posted on the Russian language crime forum Verified asking for a serious partner to assist in opening a proxy service, noting they had a botnet that was powered by malware that collected proxies with a 70 percent infection rate.
MrMurza’s Faceless advertised on the Russian-language cybercrime forum ProCrd. Image: Darkbeast/Ke-la.com.
In September 2016, MrMurza sent a message to all iSocks users saying the service would soon be phased out in favor of Faceless, and that existing iSocks users could register at Faceless for free if they did so quickly — before Faceless began charging new users registration fees between $50 and $100.
Verified and other Russian language crime forums where MrMurza had a presence have been hacked over the years, with contact details and private messages leaked online. In a 2014 private message to the administrator of Verified explaining his bona fides, MrMurza said he received years of positive feedback as a seller of stolen Italian credit cards and a vendor of drops services.
MrMurza told the Verified admin that he used the nickname AccessApproved on multiple other forums over the years. MrMurza also told the admin that his account number at the now-defunct virtual currency Liberty Reserve was U1018928.
According to cyber intelligence firm Intel 471, the user AccessApproved joined the Russian crime forum Zloy in Jan. 2012, from an Internet address in Magnitogorsk, RU. In a 2012 private message where AccessApproved was arguing with another cybercriminal over a deal gone bad, AccessApproved asked to be paid at the Liberty Reserve address U1018928.
In 2013, U.S. federal investigators seized Liberty Reserve and charged its founders with facilitating billions of dollars in money laundering tied to cybercrime. The Liberty Reserve case was prosecuted out of the Southern District of New York, which in 2016 published a list of account information (PDF) tied to thousands of Liberty Reserve addresses the government asserts were involved in money laundering.
That document indicates the Liberty Reserve account claimed by MrMurza/AccessApproved — U1018928 — was assigned in 2011 to a “Vadim Panov” who used the email address lesstroy@mgn.ru.
Constella Intelligence, a threat intelligence firm that tracks breached databases, says lesstroy@mgn.ru was used for an account “Hackerok” at the accounting service klerk.ru that was created from an Internet address in Magnitogorsk. The password chosen by this user was “1232.”
In addition to selling access to hacked computers and bank accounts, both MrMurza and AccessApproved ran side hustles on the crime forums selling clothing from popular retailers that refused to ship directly to Russia.
On one cybercrime forum where AccessApproved had clothing customers, denizens of the forum created a lengthy discussion thread to help users identify incoming emails associated with various reshipping services advertised within their community. Reshippers tend to rely on a large number of people in the United States and Europe helping to forward packages overseas, but in many cases the notifications about purchases and shipping details would be forwarded to reshipping service customers from a consistent email account.
That thread said AccessApproved’s clothing reshipping service forwarded confirmation emails from the address panov-v@mail.ru. This address is associated with accounts on two Russian cybercrime forums registered from Magnitogorsk in 2010 using the handle “Omega^gg4u.”
This Omega^gg4u identity sold software that can rapidly check the validity of large batches of stolen credit cards. Interestingly, both Omega^gg4u and AccessApproved also had another niche: Reselling heavily controlled substances — such as human growth hormone and anabolic steroids — from chemical suppliers in China.
A search in Constella on the address panov-v@mail.ru and many variations on that address shows these accounts cycled through the same passwords, including 055752403k, asus666, 01091987h, and the relatively weak password 1232 (recall that 1232 was picked by whoever registered the lesstroy@mgn.ru account at Klerk.ru).
Constella says the email address asus666@yandex.ru relied on the passwords asus666 and 01091987h. The 01091987h password also was used by asus666@mail.ru, which also favored the password 24587256.
Constella further reports that whoever owned the much shorter address asus@mail.ru also used the password 24587256. In addition, it found the password 2318922479 was tied to both asus666@mail.ru and asus@mail.ru.
The email addresses asus@mail.ru, asus2504@mail.ru, and zaxar2504@rambler.ru were all used to register Vkontakte social media accounts for a Denis ***@VIP*** Pankov. There are a number of other Vkontakte accounts registered to asus@mail.ru and many variations of this address under a different name. But none of those other profiles appear tied to real-life identities.
A mind map simplifying the research detailed here.
Constella’s data shows the email addresses asus2504@mail.ru and zaxar2504@rambler.ru used the rather unique password denis250485, which was also used by the email address denispankov@yandex.ru and almost a dozen variations at other Russian-language email providers.
Russian vehicle registration records from 2016 show the email address denispankov@yandex.ru belongs to Denis Viktorovich Pankov, born on April 25, 1985. That explains the “250485” portion of Pankov’s favored password. The registration records further indicate that in 2016 Pankov’s vehicle was registered in a suburb of Moscow.
Russian incorporation records show that denispankov@yandex.com is tied to IP Pankov Denis Viktorovich, a now-defunct transportation company in the Volograd Oblast, a region in southern Russia that shares a long border with western Kazazkhstan.
More recent records for IP Pankov Denis Viktorovich show a microenterprise with this name in Omsk that described its main activity as “retail sale by mail or via the Internet.” Russian corporate records indicate this entity was liquidated in 2021.
A reverse password search on “denis250485” via Constella shows this password was used by more than 75 email addresses, most of which are some variation of gaihnik@mail.ru — such as gaihnik25@mail.ru, or gaihnik2504@rambler.ru.
In 2012, someone posted answers to a questionnaire on behalf of Denis Viktorovich Pankov to a Russian-language discussion forum on Chinese crested dog breeds. The message said Pankov was seeking a puppy of a specific breed and was a resident of Krasnogorsk, a city that is adjacent to the northwestern boundary of Moscow.
The message said Pankov was a then 27-year-old manager in an advertising company, and could be reached at the email address gaihnik@mail.ru.
Constella Intelligence shows gaihnik@mail.ru registered at the now-defunct email marketing service Smart Responder from an address in Gagarin, which is about 115 miles west of Moscow.
Back in 2015, the user Gaihnik25 was banned from the online game World of Tanks for violating the game’s terms that prohibit “bot farming,” or the automated use of large numbers of player accounts to win some advantage that is usually related to cashing out game accounts or inventory.
For the past few years, someone using the nickname Gaihnik25 has been posting messages to the Russian-language hacking forum Gerki[.]pw, on discussion threads regarding software designed to “brute force” or mass-check online accounts for weak or compromised passwords.
A new member of the Russian hacking forum Nohide[.]Space using the handle Gaihnik has been commenting recently about proxy services, credential checking software, and the sale of hacked mailing lists. Gaihnik’s first post on the forum concerned private software for checking World of Tanks accounts.
The address gaihnik@mail.ru shows how so many email addresses tied to Pankov were also connected to apparently misleading identities on Vkontakte and elsewhere. Constella found this address was tied to a Vkontakte account for a Dmitriy Zakarov.
Microsoft’s Bing search engine says gaihnik@mail.ru belongs to 37-year-old Denis Pankov, yet clicking the Mail.ru profile for that user brings up a profile for a much older man by the name Gavril Zakarov. However, when you log in to a Mail.ru account and view that profile, it shows that most of the account’s profile photos are of a much younger man.
Many of those same photos show up in an online dating profile at dating.ru for the user Gaihnik, a.k.a “Denchik,” who says he is a 37-year-old Taurus from Gagarin who enjoys going for walks in nature, staying up late, and being on the Internet.
Mr. Pankov did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent to all of the email addresses mentioned in this story. However, some of those addresses produced detailed error responses; Mail.ru reported that the users panov-v@mail.ru, asus666@mail.ru, and asus2504@mail.ru were terminated, and that gaihnik25@mail.ru is now disabled.
Messages sent to many other email addresses connected via passwords to Pankov and using some variation of asus####@mail.ru also returned similar account termination messages.
