... anything we can do to protect ourselves?
Ensure that you protect login access to your root account - for example, don't enable remote password ssh access. Ensure that all your accounts have long strong passwords.
Only install software packages from trusted repositories. Keep your system software up to date.
The ssh packages on your system come from centos.org, and you can be sure that they do as they are cryptographicly signed and the signature verified before installation. The ssh packages cannot be modified/corrupted, unless your system is already compromised.