It's not illegal to try to log in to an ssh server. Or many. Apart from that I think the map from the article is mostly matching the number of internet-connected devices per country/region. So I think you can replace "some" by "almost all" in your statement. I mean, find a vulnerable iot device, use it for scanning/botnet.
In what country? I suspect that given the intentions it would be a breach of the U.K. computer misuse act for example. Holding the perpetrator to the law is another matter of course.
Exactly. If I just nilly willy connect to your server, try a password and it works and I immediately disconnect, will that get me in trouble in the UK? That would be worrying.
The Theft Act 1968 defines theft as dishonest appropriation of “property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it” (and then waxes lyrical about what, exactly, that means: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/crossheading/de...). Just going by that law, I would say "it depends".
It is where I live. If I know your username and password, using those credentials knowing you didn't intend to share them would be a crime.
Of course, the probability of someone getting arrested for logging into your SSH server is as close to 0 as you can possibly get, but that doesn't make it legal.
