Attackers scan for TCP 22 and 2222 around the clock. When they find an open port, they launch credential-stuffing lists harvested from previous leaks, brute-force scripts, and even malware that hunts for hard-coded passwords in deployment repositories. Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) continues to show stolen credentials as a leading initial access vector because many organizations still rely on simple passwords for SSH and SFTP. Once an outsider lands shell access or...
