AKAMAI Technologies recently published a new report detailing the threats to businesses posed by web scraping bots. According to the report, bots account for 42% of all web traffic, with 65% of them being harmful.
Businesses, especially in electronic commerce, are significantly impacted by high-risk bot traffic. These bots are used for activities such as competitive intelligence, espionage, and creating fake websites, ultimately affecting profits and customer service quality.
The lack of regulations prohibiting the use of web scraping bots, coupled with their advanced AI-based detection evasion techniques, further exacerbate the issue. However, there are measures that companies can implement to protect themselves.
Akamai emphasizes the ongoing challenges that bots pose to application owners and APIs. Web scraping can lead to data theft and counterfeit brand creation. The prevalence of “headless browser” technologies necessitates a more sophisticated approach to bot management compared to traditional JavaScript-based methods.
Key takeaways from the report include the ability of web scraping bots to extract and structure data for decision-making, their role in phishing campaigns and fraud losses, and the various technical consequences of scraping such as compromised data security and increased operating costs.
“SCRAPING AWAY YOUR BOTTOM LINE” provides strategies for mitigating the impact of scraping bots, with practical examples demonstrating improved website performance after implementing protection measures. The report also highlights the importance of compliance with regulatory standards in response to the rising number of web attacks.
According to IMPERVA’s annual BAD Bot Threats report, nearly half (49.6%) of all Internet traffic in 2023 consisted of bots, marking a 2% increase from the previous year. This rise in bot activity, particularly harmful bots accounting for 32% of total traffic, underscores the dwindling proportion of genuine user traffic.