Your Charter Communications LLC Router is Attacking the Internet (And You Have No Idea)

---

title: "Your Charter Communications LLC Router is Attacking the Internet (And You Have No Idea)"

slug: threat-pattern-residential-botnet-96-41-38-202

excerpt: "Caught in the wild: 96.41.38.202 (Charter Communications LLC) - 539 abuse reports from 210 organizations. Real OSINT, real receipts."

category: threat-intelligence

tags: [OSINT, ThreatIntel, residential-botnet, US, credential-theft]

author: Patrick Duggan

date: 2025-11-02

featured: true

---

# Your Charter Communications LLC Router is Attacking the Internet (And You Have No Idea)

**TL;DR:** 96.41.38.202 from Charter Communications LLC (US) has been reported **539 times by 210 distinct organizations**. Pattern detected: residential-botnet. Confidence: 90%.

The Receipts

**IP Address:** 96.41.38.202

**ISP:** Charter Communications LLC

**Country:** US

**Usage Type:** Fixed Line ISP

**Abuse Score:** 100/100

**Total Reports:** 539

**Distinct Reporters:** 210

**Last Seen:** 2025-10-28T06:00:37+00:00

**Hostname:** `syn-096-041-038-202.res.spectrum.com`

Attack Pattern

**Classification:** RESIDENTIAL-BOTNET

**Severity:** HIGH

**Attack Types:** Credential Harvesting, Web Scanning

Why This Matters

This is NOT a sophisticated attacker. This is someone's **home internet connection** that's been compromised. Could be:

- Compromised router (outdated firmware, default credentials)

- Malware on a home PC/laptop

- IoT device botnet (smart TV, security camera, etc.)

The owner has **NO IDEA** their connection is attacking servers worldwide.

Evidence Sample

Here are the first 5 abuse reports (out of 539 total):

Report 1 - 2025-10-28

**Reported by:** Singapore (SG)

**Details:**

Report 2 - 2025-10-28

**Reported by:** France (FR)

**Details:**

Report 3 - 2025-10-28

**Reported by:** Italy (IT)

**Details:**

Report 4 - 2025-10-28

**Reported by:** France (FR)

**Details:**

Report 5 - 2025-10-28

**Reported by:** Estonia (EE)

**Details:**

Detection Methodology

**Pattern:** residential-botnet

**Confidence Score:** 90%

**Detection Factors:**

- ✅ Residential/Mobile ISP (not datacenter)

- ✅ High report count (539 > 100)

- ✅ Wide reporter base (210 distinct organizations)

- ✅ Credential theft attempts detected

What Defenders Should Do

Detection Rules

Mitigation

1. **Block this IP immediately:** 96.41.38.202

2. **Block ASN/range if persistent:** Check if entire range is abusive

3. **Monitor for pattern:** Look for similar residential-botnet activity

4. **Share intel:** Report to AbuseIPDB, GreyNoise, etc.

The Philosophy: Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant

We publish this because:

1. **Hoarding threat intel is morally indefensible** - If you know about a threat, share it

2. **Public attribution forces accuracy** - Show receipts or look stupid

3. **Adversaries hate documentation** - Makes their infrastructure useless once published

Raw JSON Evidence

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**Data Source:** AbuseIPDB + Live Traffic Analysis

**Detection Time:** 2025-11-02T22:17:32.411Z

**Methodology:** Automated pattern recognition + manual verification

🧠 Generated by Central Brain - Autonomous Threat Intelligence

💰 Cost to bad guys: $0 (we publish for free)

🎯 Cost to defenders: Intelligence without the enterprise tax

*Want to dispute this? Email [email protected] with your traffic logs. We'll publish corrections if evidence supports it.*