Tag Archive for: “bot”

CERT-In to offer citizens eScan bot cleaning tool


Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is celebrating “Cyber Swachhta Pakhwada” from February 1 to 15. To secure the nation’s digital landscape, “Cyber Swachhta Kendra” (CSK) under CERT-In aims to create a secure cyberspace by detecting botnet infections in India and to notify, enable cleaning and securing systems of end users so as to prevent further infections.

As part of this national campaign, eScan, a cybersecurity solutions vendor, is contributing to the cause by providing eScan botnet scanning and cleaning Toolkit for botnet detections on laptops, desktops, and smartphones. This tool will empower citizens to scan and clean their devices of any potential botnet infections, thereby fortifying their digital defences.

eScan botnet cleaning toolkit: Key detailsCERT-In and eScan invite citizens across the country to actively participate in this cybersecurity endeavour. The free Botnet scanning and cleaning toolkit can be easily downloaded from the website of “Cyber Swachhta Kendra” (CSK) and MicroWorld’s official website, equipping users with a robust solution to enhance the security posture of their computers and smartphones.

MicroWorld develops information security solutions that offer protection against current and evolving cyber threats. The organisation houses the brands eScan, MailScan and Nemasis under its banner.


Its product portfolio encompasses anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, content security, anti-spam, network and host intrusion prevention solutions, app control, data leak and data theft prevention, host and network-based vulnerability assessment, backup, and patch management solutions.

These are available for on-premise deployment or cloud SaaS. Its research team is currently developing new methodologies for security inference using innovative AI models. As an MII OEM headquartered in India, MicroWorld has offices in four countries and is represented by partners across the globe.

By collaborating with eScan and other stakeholders, CERT-In aims to build a resilient and secure digital ecosystem. The Cyber Cleanliness Drive stands as a testament to the collective efforts toward fostering a safer, more secure cyberspace for all citizens.

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Ukrainian Forces Shutter Bot Farms and Illicit VPN Provider


Cybercrime
,
Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Arrests Made and Computer Equipment Seized

Ukrainian Forces Shutter Bot Farms and Illicit VPN Provider
[7:17 PM] David Perera Security Service of Ukraine officials conduct a raid on botnet operators. (Image: Security Service of Ukraine) like 1

Ukrainian law enforcement dismantled more than half a dozen bot farms and a virtual private network infrastructure spreading disinformation and fake Russian propaganda.

See Also: Live Webinar | Education Cybersecurity Best Practices: Devices, Ransomware, Budgets and Resources

The cyber specialists of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police seized thousands of SIM cards, bank cards, GSM gateways and other specialized equipment used to support a network of 5,000 anonymous social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The accounts had almost 200,000 users. Police did not disclose the exact number of arrests, which took place in nine separate regions of Ukraine.

This takedown is the latest in a string of raids on botnet operators, including the December 2022 dismantling of more than a dozen bot farms, the September 2022 takedown of two bot farms and the August 2022 dismantling of a group that operated more than 1 million bots.

The SBU on Monday also seized operations of an illicit VPN the agency said had been used by Russians to conduct disinformation operations.

The police arrested two persons from Poltava and one from the Kharkiv region of Ukraine in association with the illegal activity.

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How to Distinguish Bot vs. Human Traffic


Not so long ago, bots were considered a modern-day convenience. Understandably so, bots have the potential to make enterprises more efficient with customer service or help to improve an enterprise’s standing on popular search engines. However, with their growing sophistication and scale in recent times, bots and  botnets have become a source of concern for enterprises around the globe. In fact, bots now comprise nearly half of all internet traffic. This shows that enterprises need to recognize bots are the “new normal” on the internet and prepare accordingly. 

These malicious software applications are designed to mimic human behavior on websites or apps. Usually deployed by cybercriminals to carry out malicious activities such as spreading misinformation, conducting DDoS attacks or inventory scraping, automated bad bots have now become one of the biggest threats to enterprises.  

Identifying bot traffic within your website traffic is vital because it allows you to take action and minimize the impact of the bot attack. 

In this blog post, we will tell you about the challenges of detecting bot traffic and tips that can help you spot bot traffic. You’ll also find tools that can help monitor bot vs. human traffic.

Ready to defeat advanced, automated bots? Read our ebook, Beat Advanced Bots with Intelligent Challenge-Response, and get started today!

What is Bot Traffic?

Put simply, bot traffic is non-human traffic generated by robots to web pages and apps. Bot traffic can be beneficial or harmful, depending on the purpose of the bots. Usually, bots perform repetitive tasks automatically without human involvement, like web crawlers. This automation enables a bot’s human overlord to conduct a variety of tasks.  

Good bots can be used for marketing and customer service functions, data mining, and fraud prevention. However, malicious bots can also be used for credential stuffing, web content scraping or data scraping, and launching denial of service (DDoS) or account takeover (ATO) attacks. Specific “spam bots” can also be used to control a narrative on social media or…

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Benefits of Real-Time Bot Detection


For those unaware, the bot revolution is happening right before our eyes. In fact, nearly half of all internet traffic consists of bot traffic. While some of this traffic is considered good bot traffic – think useful bots like web crawlers or AI chatbots for customer service – much of this can be considered bad bot traffic. 

Many of these bad bots are on the hunt for vulnerabilities to exploit, which is why it is imperative that enterprises look to a bot management solution. That said, any bot management solution should prioritize bot detection in real time. After all, if you can’t detect bots first, how can you mitigate them before the damage is done?

Want to learn more about bad bots, but don’t want to read anymore? Watch our video webinar. Beat Bad Bots by Building Cross-Functional Bonds. 

The rise of bad bots

Malicious bots have become the tool of choice for many cybercriminals. The growth of cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) offerings, in which cybercriminals can purchase malicious bots, is fueling their popularity. CaaS provides cybercriminals with sophisticated bots ready-made to commit fraud and other crimes. For instance, a cybercriminal can purchase a malicious bot or botnet for web scraping, distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) that overwhelm web servers, conduct account takeover (ATO) attacks, or send spam and phishing emails. 

Bots can also be used for inventory scraping or sniping attacks in which a cybercriminal uses bots to purchase a popular item – like sneakers, game systems, or concert tickets – and sell them for upcharge prices online. These instances can frustrate potential customers who have to pay more money for inventory that seems to get gobbled up before they have the chance to make their own purchase. Additionally, bots can be used to leave poor reviews of a company, create fake accounts, or impact conversations about an enterprise on social media. 

Regardless of use, all of these bad bot instances go beyond hurting an enterprise’s bottom line and have the potential to negatively impact an enterprise’s hard-earned brand reputation and…

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