The internet has entered a new era, with automated traffic generating more web activity than human users, according to a new study. Resource owners will have to deploy increasingly sophisticated defenses against attacks.
The majority of online shopping traffic during the holiday season in late 2024 came not from people, but from robots, according to a report (PDF) from Radware. For the first time in history, software tools ranging from simple scripts to digital agents with artificial intelligence accounted for 57% of all traffic, surpassing the number of people on e-commerce sites. The report highlights that malicious bots continue to evolve, with nearly 60% now employing behavioral strategies designed to evade detection, including changing IP addresses and identifiers, passing CAPTCHA tests, and imitating human browsing habits.
Between the 2023 and 2024 holiday seasons, mobile bots have grown by 160%. Attackers deploy mobile emulators and unsigned browsers that mimic human behavior. We’ll keep you updated as more integrations and defenses become available.
Evolving Threats and the Need for Smarter Protection
The only effective way to combat malicious bots is to use advanced tools — AI-powered protection that can learn and adapt. Companies should review their security arsenals, abandoning basic filters in favor of solutions that offer advanced protection against DDoS attacks and intelligent traffic monitoring.
Bots are actively integrating into everyday internet traffic — proxy attacks with home IP addresses have grown by 32%, making it much more difficult for online store administrators to use traditional protection methods such as speed limiting or geofencing, notes NIX Solutions.
The most alarming trend is the growth of single-vector campaigns that combine bots with traditional exploits and attacks aimed directly at APIs. The goal of such campaigns is no longer to collect prices or steal credentials, but to shut down sites entirely.
Businesses that rely on online store builders and user-friendly platforms are especially at risk. Security tools must evolve along with attack tools, and platform operators must implement new defenses against increasingly sophisticated threats. As this landscape changes, we’ll keep you updated on new findings and protective technologies.