Foiling bot attacks with AI-powered telemetry

Partner Content In today's digital landscape, the threat of automated attacks has escalated, fuelled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).

Cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging AI-enabled tools to launch sophisticated bot attacks that target companies of all sizes. These automated threats not only disrupt operations but also drain valuable resources as businesses scramble to mitigate the damage.

A prime example of this is the recent surge in credential stuffing attacks, where bots, powered by AI algorithms, systematically attempt to log into various accounts using stolen or leaked credentials. These attacks are particularly challenging because they can occur at scale and with alarming speed, overwhelming systems and causing significant financial and reputational damage.

Resource drain from bot attacks

Bot attacks force companies to divert resources away from their core business functions to address the immediate threats. These incidents often necessitate emergency response measures, including incident analysis, remediation, and customer support.

The redirection of resources not only disrupts daily operations but also increases operational costs. In many cases, businesses must invest in additional security measures, such as advanced threat detection systems, to prevent future attacks. This can strain budgets and divert funds from other critical areas, such as innovation and growth initiatives.

One of the most notorious examples of bot attacks in recent years is the rise of "sneaker bots." These bots are designed to purchase limited-edition sneakers and other high-demand products the moment they become available online, often within milliseconds. Sneaker bots give resellers an unfair advantage, allowing them to acquire large quantities of coveted items before legitimate customers have a chance.

Moreover, the influx of bot traffic can overwhelm e-commerce platforms, causing site outages and further revenue loss.

Complexity in a hybrid infrastructure

As companies increasingly adopt hybrid infrastructures - combining on-premise, cloud, and edge environments - their security posture becomes more complex. Bot attacks add another layer of difficulty, as they exploit vulnerabilities across different parts of the infrastructure. In a hybrid environment, ensuring comprehensive security coverage is challenging because each segment of the infrastructure may have different security protocols, tools, and monitoring systems.

This fragmentation can create blind spots that bots can exploit. For example, a bot attack might target a less-secure cloud application, bypassing the stronger security measures in place on the company's on-premise systems. Similarly, a bot could exploit weaknesses in edge devices, such as IoT sensors, to gain entry into the broader network.

 To effectively combat these sophisticated bot attacks, companies must deploy equally advanced defence mechanisms. AI-powered telemetry is one such solution. Telemetry involves the collection, transmission, and analysis of data from various parts of the infrastructure to provide real-time visibility into system performance and security events.

In a hybrid infrastructure, AI-powered telemetry must span all environments - on-premise, cloud, and edge. This holistic approach ensures that no part of the infrastructure is left unmonitored, reducing the risk of blind spots. Telemetry data is gathered from a wide range of sources, including network traffic, application logs, user behavior, and system performance metrics.

This data is then analyzed by AI and ML models to identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate a bot attack. For instance, AI can detect unusual login attempts or abnormal traffic spikes that could signify a credential stuffing or DDoS attack. Machine learning models can continuously refine their detection algorithms by learning from new data, improving their ability to identify and block malicious activity over time.

A unified bot mitigation solution like F5's Distributed Cloud Bot Defence can be deployed in both hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Based on the telemetry collected from the disparate environments, F5 uses AI to analyze the traffic volumes, rapidly discovering attacker's retooling moves to ensure sustainable bot prediction models at a near zero false positive rate.

The importance of full visibility

Full visibility is crucial in defending against bot attacks because it allows security teams to quickly detect and respond to threats, no matter where they originate. In a hybrid infrastructure, this means having real-time insight into all components, including cloud services, on-premise systems, and edge devices.

AI-powered telemetry enables security teams to correlate data from across the infrastructure, providing a comprehensive view of the threat landscape. This allows for more accurate threat detection and faster response times. Additionally, AI-driven analytics can help prioritize alerts, ensuring that security teams focus on the most critical threats first. In an era where cyber threats are constantly evolving, AI-powered telemetry is not just a tool - it's a necessity.

Contributed by F5.