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Bot mitigation is a reduction in the number of malicious attacks and loads from robotic systems on applications, APIs, and server services. These include DDoS, vulnerability scanning, and click-baiting of ads. Services and tools for preventing bot traffic use various methods and algorithms. “Good” robots are not banned. In general, this is a fight against any unwanted traffic.
Bots can perform almost any action: from filling out web forms to communicating and processing user requests in online chats. In addition to auxiliary, "good" robots, there can also be malicious ones, controlled by fraudsters, who perform DDoS attacks of 4-7 levels or continuous checks of the site for vulnerabilities in cross-site scripts (XSS - a type of attack on web systems, which consists of introducing malicious code into a web page).
To reliably prevent such attacks, it is necessary:
Airlines, online gaming sites, financial service providers and credit institutions, as well as advertisers and webmasters, are the most frequently attacked and targeted companies. However, they are not the only ones who need protection from fraudsters.
Contents
1. Types of attacks in which scammers use bots
1.1 Large-scale attacks
1.2. Low frequency and narrow beam
1.3. Machine vision
1.4. Hybrid attacks
2. Click fraud and bot protection
3. Ways to combat bot traffic
3.1. IP Blocking and IP Reputation Analysis
3.2. Allowed lists, stop lists and black lists
3.3. TPS and speed limit
3.4 Managing Bot Signatures and Device Fingerprints
3.5. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
3.6. Captcha and reCaptcha
3.7. Multi-factor authentication
Fraudsters also learn to bypass the protection mechanisms of tools and services that companies use to combat bot traffic. Using this information, they know when to use only automated scripts or combine them with real users who are willing to perform tasks assigned by fraudsters for money.
The code of advanced bots is created to enhance the work of performers with buxes for earnings. This combined approach allows cybercriminals not only to overcome protection systems, but also to launch more complex - hybrid - attacks that are more difficult to detect.
Fraudsters usually use bots to check and fill in credentials. Depending on the type of attack they are planning, they use such means and tools at their discretion so that they can provide them with maximum profit with minimum investment.
For example, spam mailings are one of these types. It only takes a few dozen poorly informed users who will follow malicious links and bring money to the attackers.
Examples of this type include fake reviews, videos with like/dislike votes, commercial invalid traffic from ads or search, and abuse of in-game economies that make money for scammers.
It is only natural that in our technological age, our digital era, advertising attracts increased attention from attackers. And the speed and timeliness with which advertisers act against invalid clicks in marketing campaigns greatly affects the preservation of the budget.
However, click fraud and bot attacks are a constant threat to any advertiser and any budget, from online stores to ticketing sites or online gaming.
These could be web application firewalls (WAF), API gateways, etc. Here is a more detailed list of such tools.
A bot included in the list with access permission will not be blocked "at the entrance" and will bypass other measures to detect malicious traffic. If it is not in the list of allowed, then a check is carried out against the block list, up to the speed limit and monitoring of transactions per second (TPS).
TPS does the same thing - it sets a certain time interval for requests to the site. If visits from one IP address exceed the threshold, then its access will be completely blocked.
WAFs require daily monitoring and maintenance to keep up with new scams and ways to bypass security systems. Therefore, it is important to consider using additional specialized anti-bot software.
Captchas are not always easy to pass even for real users, especially people with disabilities who use screen readers.
Captcha and reCAPTCHA are limited in their effectiveness in blocking advanced bots. Captcha farms can easily bypass this method of protection.
Disadvantage: the user must decide for himself whether to use this authorization method or not.
Bots can perform almost any action: from filling out web forms to communicating and processing user requests in online chats. In addition to auxiliary, "good" robots, there can also be malicious ones, controlled by fraudsters, who perform DDoS attacks of 4-7 levels or continuous checks of the site for vulnerabilities in cross-site scripts (XSS - a type of attack on web systems, which consists of introducing malicious code into a web page).
To reliably prevent such attacks, it is necessary:
- Quickly detect fraudulent traffic. To do this, it is worth using detection mechanisms such as IP filtering, device fingerprints and ready-made stop lists.
- Limit the bandwidth of websites and web applications so that bots do not overload servers with load, even to the point of prohibiting suspicious visits, including to technical pages.
- Regularly update bot signatures and conduct analytics on their activity.
Airlines, online gaming sites, financial service providers and credit institutions, as well as advertisers and webmasters, are the most frequently attacked and targeted companies. However, they are not the only ones who need protection from fraudsters.
Contents
1. Types of attacks in which scammers use bots
1.1 Large-scale attacks
1.2. Low frequency and narrow beam
1.3. Machine vision
1.4. Hybrid attacks
2. Click fraud and bot protection
3. Ways to combat bot traffic
3.1. IP Blocking and IP Reputation Analysis
3.2. Allowed lists, stop lists and black lists
3.3. TPS and speed limit
3.4 Managing Bot Signatures and Device Fingerprints
3.5. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
3.6. Captcha and reCaptcha
3.7. Multi-factor authentication
Types of attacks where scammers use bots
Using them, fraudsters can conduct thousands of attacks simultaneously, allowing them to undertake large-scale fraud attempts. In addition, botnet scripts are easily accessible, making them an active and easy tool even for novice fraudsters.Fraudsters also learn to bypass the protection mechanisms of tools and services that companies use to combat bot traffic. Using this information, they know when to use only automated scripts or combine them with real users who are willing to perform tasks assigned by fraudsters for money.
The code of advanced bots is created to enhance the work of performers with buxes for earnings. This combined approach allows cybercriminals not only to overcome protection systems, but also to launch more complex - hybrid - attacks that are more difficult to detect.
Fraudsters usually use bots to check and fill in credentials. Depending on the type of attack they are planning, they use such means and tools at their discretion so that they can provide them with maximum profit with minimum investment.
Large-scale attacks
For large-scale scammers often use simple bots to achieve their goals. The goal of the scammers is to make money, and the number of robots that can achieve the given goal does not matter.For example, spam mailings are one of these types. It only takes a few dozen poorly informed users who will follow malicious links and bring money to the attackers.
Low frequency and highly directional
When scammers plan an attack, they usually prepare for it first and use bots to create a so-called base. They allow cybercriminals to carry out pinpoint and low-frequency attacks. They imitate the behavior of real users to avoid blocking as much as possible.Examples of this type include fake reviews, videos with like/dislike votes, commercial invalid traffic from ads or search, and abuse of in-game economies that make money for scammers.
Machine vision
Advanced bots can accurately imitate the behavior of real users. Special automated scripts based on machine vision technology are used for this. Fraudsters use them in cases where it is necessary to overcome the solutions used by the company to protect against bots.Hybrid attacks
For hybrid fraudsters use both bots and real people who are ready to perform the tasks given to them. They find performers on special buxes or through click farm services. This approach is used when bots cannot overcome the protection against automated actions.Click fraud and bot protection
Automating click fraud prevention and protection against fraudulent traffic is critical for advertisers of all budgets. Bots can waste advertising dollars by clicking ads and faking bids and requests.It is only natural that in our technological age, our digital era, advertising attracts increased attention from attackers. And the speed and timeliness with which advertisers act against invalid clicks in marketing campaigns greatly affects the preservation of the budget.
However, click fraud and bot attacks are a constant threat to any advertiser and any budget, from online stores to ticketing sites or online gaming.
Ways to combat bot traffic[
Various methods of detecting bots and blocking such traffic can be used to combat digital fraud. In more serious cases, artificial intelligence and machine learning are used.These could be web application firewalls (WAF), API gateways, etc. Here is a more detailed list of such tools.
IP Blocking and IP Reputation Analysis
Solutions for protection against automated attacks include blocking malicious IP addresses that have ever been seen to be involved in such activities and are marked as bots. Their reputation may change over time and be dynamically updated. Repeated dangerous and malicious traffic from these addresses will be blocked in the future.Allowed lists and stop lists and black lists
Allow and stop lists are compiled by IP addresses, subnets, and policies. These lists will determine which bots can visit sites and which will be denied access, i.e. invalid traffic will be cut off.A bot included in the list with access permission will not be blocked "at the entrance" and will bypass other measures to detect malicious traffic. If it is not in the list of allowed, then a check is carried out against the block list, up to the speed limit and monitoring of transactions per second (TPS).
TPS and speed limit
Bot traffic from an unknown IP address can be limited. This way, one user will not be able to send an unlimited number of requests to the API and, accordingly, clog the network.TPS does the same thing - it sets a certain time interval for requests to the site. If visits from one IP address exceed the threshold, then its access will be completely blocked.
Managing Bot Signatures and Device Fingerprints
A bot signature is an identifier for a bot based on certain attributes, such as its HTTP request patterns. A device fingerprint also shows whether certain browser attributes or request headers are specific to the bot, and whether it is associated with malicious traffic.Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A firewall can effectively eliminate vulnerabilities and block unwanted traffic from questionable IP addresses or even entire countries. However, there is a downside - this method is not focused exclusively on malicious traffic and is not able to evaluate the imitation of real users' actions.WAFs require daily monitoring and maintenance to keep up with new scams and ways to bypass security systems. Therefore, it is important to consider using additional specialized anti-bot software.
Captcha and reCaptcha
You can use Google's captcha or reCaptcha to prevent bots from spamming websites and performing any automated actions with form filling. However, there are some downsides to this solution.Captchas are not always easy to pass even for real users, especially people with disabilities who use screen readers.
Captcha and reCAPTCHA are limited in their effectiveness in blocking advanced bots. Captcha farms can easily bypass this method of protection.
Multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the more advanced methods of preventing attacks. By adding another step during authorization or authentication, bots will not be able to pass it. For example, such types of protection include authorization on a website through registration data and SMS to a phone number.Disadvantage: the user must decide for himself whether to use this authorization method or not.
