A summer of cybercrime reveals evolving bot threats
Fans around the world clamored online, and even in-person, over the past several weeks to enjoy the thrill of competition. From the Tour De France and EURO 2020 tournament in June to the recent Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, fans were eager to cheer on their nations and make a little money in the process, too.
As fans placed their wagers on individual matches through online betting sites, Imperva Research Labs noticed a suspicious rise in bot activity on both sporting and betting sites, coinciding with these global sporting events. In addition to bot-driven comment spamming and content scraping, Imperva also monitored a rise in account takeover (ATO) attacks — designed to break into accounts and gain access to gamblers’ digital wallets — in the weeks leading up to and during these events.