diff --git a/decnet/correlation/engine.py b/decnet/correlation/engine.py
index 198d5442..c8340df0 100644
--- a/decnet/correlation/engine.py
+++ b/decnet/correlation/engine.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 from collections import defaultdict
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, Callable
 
 from rich.table import Table
 
@@ -33,17 +34,35 @@ from decnet.logging.syslog_formatter import (
     SEVERITY_WARNING,
     format_rfc5424,
 )
+from decnet.logging import get_logger
 from decnet.telemetry import traced as _traced, get_tracer as _get_tracer
 
+log = get_logger("correlation.engine")
+
+
+# ``publish_fn(event_type, payload_dict)``.  Sync to avoid rippling
+# ``async`` through every call site of :meth:`CorrelationEngine.ingest`;
+# the caller wraps bus-publish via
+# :func:`decnet.bus.publish.make_thread_safe_publisher`, which is safe to
+# invoke from any thread including the event-loop thread.
+CorrelationPublishFn = Callable[[str, dict[str, Any]], None]
+
 
 class CorrelationEngine:
-    def __init__(self) -> None:
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        publish_fn: CorrelationPublishFn | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
         # attacker_ip → chronological list of events (only events with an IP)
         self._events: dict[str, list[LogEvent]] = defaultdict(list)
         # Total lines parsed (including no-IP and non-DECNET lines)
         self.lines_parsed: int = 0
         # Total events indexed (had an attacker_ip)
         self.events_indexed: int = 0
+        # Optional bus hook — invoked on first-sighting of an attacker IP.
+        # Always fires exactly once per IP for the lifetime of the engine.
+        self._publish_fn = publish_fn
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------ #
     # Ingestion                                                            #
@@ -61,8 +80,23 @@ class CorrelationEngine:
         if event is None:
             return None
         if event.attacker_ip:
+            first_sighting = event.attacker_ip not in self._events
             self._events[event.attacker_ip].append(event)
             self.events_indexed += 1
+            if first_sighting and self._publish_fn is not None:
+                try:
+                    self._publish_fn(
+                        "observed",
+                        {
+                            "attacker_ip": event.attacker_ip,
+                            "decky": event.decky,
+                            "service": event.service,
+                            "event_type": event.event_type,
+                            "first_seen": event.timestamp.isoformat(),
+                        },
+                    )
+                except Exception as exc:
+                    log.warning("correlation publish hook failed: %s", exc)
         return event
 
     @_traced("correlation.ingest_file")
diff --git a/decnet/profiler/worker.py b/decnet/profiler/worker.py
index 3abaf8ef..8cccac2b 100644
--- a/decnet/profiler/worker.py
+++ b/decnet/profiler/worker.py
@@ -13,11 +13,15 @@ Complexity per cycle: O(new_logs + affected_ips) instead of O(total_logs²).
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import contextlib
 import json
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from typing import Any
 
+from decnet.bus import topics as _topics
+from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+from decnet.bus.publish import make_thread_safe_publisher
 from decnet.correlation.engine import CorrelationEngine
 from decnet.correlation.parser import LogEvent
 from decnet.logging import get_logger
@@ -50,18 +54,44 @@ class _WorkerState:
 async def attacker_profile_worker(repo: BaseRepository, *, interval: int = 30) -> None:
     """Periodically updates the Attacker table incrementally. Designed to run as an asyncio Task."""
     logger.info("attacker profile worker started interval=%ds", interval)
-    state = _WorkerState()
+
+    # Optional bus wiring — correlator-family publishes ride on the profiler
+    # worker because CorrelationEngine lives inside it.  If the bus is off or
+    # unreachable the engine runs with publish_fn=None and downstream degrades
+    # to DB-only.
+    bus = None
+    try:
+        bus = get_bus(client_name="profiler")
+        await bus.connect()
+    except Exception as exc:
+        logger.warning("profiler: bus unavailable, continuing without publish: %s", exc)
+        bus = None
+
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    raw_publish = make_thread_safe_publisher(bus, loop) if bus is not None else None
+
+    def _publish_attacker(event_type: str, payload: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        if raw_publish is None:
+            return
+        raw_publish(_topics.attacker(event_type), payload, event_type)
+
+    state = _WorkerState(engine=CorrelationEngine(publish_fn=_publish_attacker))
     _saved_cursor = await repo.get_state(_STATE_KEY)
     if _saved_cursor:
         state.last_log_id = _saved_cursor.get("last_log_id", 0)
         state.initialized = True
         logger.info("attacker worker: resumed from cursor last_log_id=%d", state.last_log_id)
-    while True:
-        await asyncio.sleep(interval)
-        try:
-            await _incremental_update(repo, state)
-        except Exception as exc:
-            logger.error("attacker worker: update failed: %s", exc)
+    try:
+        while True:
+            await asyncio.sleep(interval)
+            try:
+                await _incremental_update(repo, state)
+            except Exception as exc:
+                logger.error("attacker worker: update failed: %s", exc)
+    finally:
+        if bus is not None:
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                await bus.close()
 
 
 @_traced("profiler.incremental_update")
diff --git a/tests/correlation/__init__.py b/tests/correlation/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/tests/correlation/test_correlation_bus.py b/tests/correlation/test_correlation_bus.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..08ebda74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/correlation/test_correlation_bus.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+"""Bus wiring for the correlation engine (DEBT-031, worker 3).
+
+The correlator is not a standalone worker — ``CorrelationEngine`` is a
+batch class instantiated inside the profiler worker.  DEBT-031 wires it
+via an optional ``publish_fn`` constructor arg: on the first sighting of
+an attacker IP, the engine emits ``("observed", payload)`` through the
+hook.  The profiler worker carries the bus physically and translates
+those sync hook calls into ``attacker.observed`` publishes.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+from datetime import datetime
+
+import pytest
+import pytest_asyncio
+
+from decnet.bus import topics as _topics
+from decnet.bus.fake import FakeBus
+from decnet.bus.publish import make_thread_safe_publisher
+from decnet.correlation.engine import CorrelationEngine
+from decnet.logging.syslog_formatter import SEVERITY_INFO, format_rfc5424
+
+
+_TS = "2026-04-21T10:00:00+00:00"
+
+
+def _line(ip: str = "1.2.3.4", decky: str = "decky-01", event_type: str = "connection") -> str:
+    return format_rfc5424(
+        service="http",
+        hostname=decky,
+        event_type=event_type,
+        severity=SEVERITY_INFO,
+        timestamp=datetime.fromisoformat(_TS),
+        src_ip=ip,
+    )
+
+
+@pytest_asyncio.fixture
+async def bus() -> FakeBus:
+    b = FakeBus()
+    await b.connect()
+    yield b
+    await b.close()
+
+
+# ─── Engine-level publish hook ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def test_engine_publishes_once_on_first_sighting() -> None:
+    captured: list[tuple[str, dict]] = []
+    engine = CorrelationEngine(
+        publish_fn=lambda event_type, payload: captured.append((event_type, payload)),
+    )
+
+    # Same IP three times: only the first should publish.
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="9.9.9.9"))
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="9.9.9.9", event_type="login"))
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="9.9.9.9", decky="decky-02"))
+
+    assert len(captured) == 1
+    event_type, payload = captured[0]
+    assert event_type == "observed"
+    assert payload["attacker_ip"] == "9.9.9.9"
+    assert payload["decky"] == "decky-01"
+    assert payload["service"] == "http"
+    assert payload["event_type"] == "connection"
+    assert payload["first_seen"].startswith("2026-04-21T10:00:00")
+
+
+def test_engine_publishes_per_unique_ip() -> None:
+    captured: list[tuple[str, dict]] = []
+    engine = CorrelationEngine(
+        publish_fn=lambda event_type, payload: captured.append((event_type, payload)),
+    )
+
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="1.1.1.1"))
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="2.2.2.2"))
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="1.1.1.1"))  # dup, no publish
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="3.3.3.3"))
+
+    ips = [p["attacker_ip"] for _, p in captured]
+    assert ips == ["1.1.1.1", "2.2.2.2", "3.3.3.3"]
+
+
+def test_engine_swallows_publish_fn_failures() -> None:
+    # A publish hook that blows up must never break ingestion.
+    def _boom(_event_type, _payload):
+        raise RuntimeError("transport exploded")
+
+    engine = CorrelationEngine(publish_fn=_boom)
+    result = engine.ingest(_line(ip="5.5.5.5"))
+    assert result is not None
+    assert engine.events_indexed == 1
+
+
+def test_engine_runs_unchanged_without_publish_fn() -> None:
+    # Pre-bus behavior.  No hook, no publishes, same indexing result.
+    engine = CorrelationEngine()
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="7.7.7.7"))
+    engine.ingest(_line(ip="7.7.7.7"))
+    assert engine.events_indexed == 2
+
+
+def test_engine_ignores_lines_without_attacker_ip() -> None:
+    captured: list[tuple[str, dict]] = []
+    engine = CorrelationEngine(
+        publish_fn=lambda event_type, payload: captured.append((event_type, payload)),
+    )
+    # Line without src_ip — parser still returns a LogEvent but attacker_ip is empty.
+    line_no_ip = format_rfc5424(
+        service="http",
+        hostname="decky-01",
+        event_type="boot",
+        severity=SEVERITY_INFO,
+        timestamp=datetime.fromisoformat(_TS),
+    )
+    engine.ingest(line_no_ip)
+    assert captured == []
+
+
+# ─── End-to-end through the bus ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_correlator_publishes_on_attacker_observed_topic(bus: FakeBus) -> None:
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    raw = make_thread_safe_publisher(bus, loop)
+
+    def publish(event_type: str, payload: dict) -> None:
+        raw(_topics.attacker(_topics.ATTACKER_OBSERVED), payload, event_type)
+
+    engine = CorrelationEngine(publish_fn=publish)
+
+    sub = bus.subscribe("attacker.observed")
+    async with sub:
+        engine.ingest(_line(ip="8.8.8.8"))
+        event = await asyncio.wait_for(sub.__anext__(), timeout=2.0)
+
+    assert event.topic == "attacker.observed"
+    assert event.type == "observed"
+    assert event.payload["attacker_ip"] == "8.8.8.8"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_correlator_degrades_cleanly_when_bus_disabled(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    # DECNET_BUS_ENABLED=false returns NullBus; connect()+publish must never raise.
+    from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+
+    monkeypatch.setenv("DECNET_BUS_ENABLED", "false")
+    b = get_bus(client_name="profiler")
+    await b.connect()
+    await b.publish("attacker.observed", {"attacker_ip": "1.2.3.4"}, event_type="observed")
+    await b.close()