Numerous studies have explored SSH attacks, often focusing on specific botnet activities or providing short-term analyses of particular honeynets. In this paper, we present an analysis of data collected from a large-scale honeynet over a three-year period, shedding light on gradual shifts in attacker behavior. Our findings suggest a trend toward more exploratory attacks, with indications that attackers are increasingly moving beyond the blind execution of scripts.

Malware is recognized as one of the most severe cybersecurity threats today. Although malware attacks are as old as the Internet, our understanding of which part of the Internet infrastructure is used to distribute malware software is still rather limited.

Honeypots have been used for decades to detect, monitor, and understand attempts of unauthorized use of information systems. Previous studies focused on characterizing the spread of malware, e.g., Mirai and other attacks, or proposed stealthy and interactive architectures to improve honeypot efficiency.