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AI Bots Drive 51% of Web Traffic; ByteSpider Leads 54% of Attacks, Microsoft Blocks 1.6M Bot Signups Hourly

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Updated Apr 16, 2025, 03:33 PM

Artificial intelligence is driving a surge in online fraud, with new research from The Alan Turing Institute and industry reports showing that AI-powered bots now account for 51% of global internet traffic, according to the 2025 Imperva Bad Bot Report published by Thales. Bad bots alone make up 37% of this traffic, and the report tracked an average of 2 million AI-enabled attacks daily in 2024. The rise of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini has enabled both sophisticated and less-skilled actors to automate phishing campaigns, create convincing fake websites, generate fraudulent product reviews, and carry out large-scale attacks. ByteSpider Bot, developed by ByteDance, was responsible for 54% of all AI-enabled attacks, followed by Applebot, ClaudeBot, and ChatGPT User Bot. Advanced bots targeted APIs in 44% of cases, exploiting vulnerabilities for payment fraud and data breaches. The financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce sectors are among the most at risk, with retail seeing up to 59% of its traffic coming from bots. Microsoft's latest security report notes the company blocks about 1.6 million bot signup attempts per hour, thwarted $4 billion in fraud attempts, and blocked 49,000 fraudulent partnership enrollments in the past year. Microsoft has also implemented features like typo and domain impersonation protection, a Scareware Blocker in its Edge browser, and AI-powered detection systems to combat recruitment and tech support scams. The company blocks thousands of suspicious Quick Assist connections daily to protect users from remote support fraud. AI is being used to generate fake influencer videos, deepfake product reviews, and counterfeit websites, making scams harder to detect. Experts recommend adopting multifactor authentication, monitoring for AI-based recruitment scams, and using advanced detection technologies. Organizations and consumers are urged to remain vigilant as AI-driven bots continue to fuel the growth of both simple and advanced online fraud.

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#The Alan Turing Institute #Imperva Bad Bot Report #Thales #ChatGPT #Google Gemini #ByteSpider Bot #ByteDance #Applebot #ClaudeBot #ChatGPT User Bot #Microsoft #Scareware Blocker #Edge #Quick Assist #AI

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CBS News Miami

@CBSMiami

Online scams are nothing new, but artificial intelligence is making it easier than ever to fool people. https://t.co/egkpEp8o5b

Red Points

@redpoints

Fraudsters are using AI to scale counterfeits, impersonation, and piracy like never before. How are you keeping up? In this short video, Red Points CEO @Lurquizu explains what this means for brands — and how leading companies are fighting back. ⚔️ AI against AI: It’s the only https://t.co/jUZJWKBuI3

Red Points

@redpoints

Fraudsters are using AI to scale counterfeits, impersonation, and piracy like never before. How are you keeping up? In this short video, Red Points CEO Laura Urquizu explains what this means for brands — and how leading companies are fighting back. ⚔️ AI against AI: It’s the https://t.co/nQJf93H3NK