Security experts expressed concern over potential disruptions to the upcoming holiday shopping season after retail bot attacks were observed to have increased. Experts found that there was a double-digit year-on-year increase in bot driver cyberattacks in 2021. Imperva released a report titled State of Security Within eCommerce that revealed that over half of attacks targeting retail websites were conducted by bots, as compared to 33% across other industries. Experts also found that account takeover attempts have increased year on year, with more hackers attempting to steal personal and financial information through breaching customers’ accounts.
The attacks are often conducted by sophisticated bots that are able to mimic human mouse movements and actions to overcome cyber defenses. Bots can conduct denial of inventory and account takeover attacks. The former is a type of attack in which items are added to account baskets to take them out of circulation, making them unavailable for real customers. This type of attack could harm businesses and exacerbate existing supply chain issues this holiday season.
Read More: Holiday Shopping Disruption Beckons as Retail Bot Attacks Surge 13%