Cowrie SSH Honeypot: Deploy, Analyse and Attribute SSH Threat Activity

This book is based entirely on real-world SSH attack data collected from live honeypot systems and operational monitoring infrastructure.

It analyzes how automated brute-force campaigns behave in practice — including scanning patterns, credential guessing strategies, and post-compromise activity observed in real attack environments.

This is not a theoretical cybersecurity guide. It does not describe hypothetical scenarios or textbook examples. All findings are derived from actual attacker activity observed in production systems operated by SSHLab Research.

The research focuses on real attack behavior, including:

• SSH brute-force campaign structures
• Automated scanning and bot behavior
• Credential spraying and guessing patterns
• Post-compromise actions after successful access
• Infrastructure reuse across attack campaigns
• Behavioral patterns of malicious automation systems

The data used in this book comes from SSHLab Research monitoring infrastructure, including:

• SSH honeypots deployed in real environments
• Intrusion logs and attack telemetry
• Distributed sensors observing global attack traffic
• Long-term analysis of attacker behavior patterns

This book is intended for cybersecurity practitioners, SOC analysts, security researchers, and anyone studying real-world network attacks and defensive strategies