Managing and Mitigating Bots

Conclusion

There is no doubt that automated traffic is a major factor in the modern internet and estimates that this will continue to grow would seem to be accurate as there are very large amounts of money involved—the value of ad fraud alone in 2015 was estimated at $6.3 billion.

Automated traffic activity is not conducted only by lone wolf hackers—there are major, organized criminal groups who are dedicating large amounts of time and effort to target specific systems where they feel they can optimize revenue. They have large automated activity scouring the internet for potential targets.

It is essential then that websites owners take this problem seriously and start to get an understanding of the amount of automated traffic that is hitting their systems but much more importantly, what that traffic is doing. As has been shown in this book there are a wide variety of different activities being undertaken for a wide variety of purposes and only by understanding this can you assess the risk/opportunity this traffic is presenting.

However, identification of this traffic and its intent is complex as automated traffic is actively trying to stay ahead of any defenses that have been put in place. Identifying automated traffic requires the latest generation of machine learning and behavioral-based analysis and that process takes time and effort to do so reliably.

Only by taking this seriously and ensuring that you take control of your traffic can you ensure that you maximize the value ...