The UK Bot Security Report from DataDome found that two thirds (66%) of UK businesses are defenceless against simple bot attacks. The security researchers point out the precarious position this places UK businesses amidst the mounting threat of automated cyber-attacks. 

Malicious bots make up 30-40% of all internet traffic, and are projected to cost businesses a total of $100 billion (£78.7bn) in 2023 from ad fraud, compared to £35bn (£27.5bn) in 2018 according to a report. 

Cyber-criminals leverage bots to launch attacks, the repercussions of which can lead to not just financial losses, but also compromised data, undermined customer experiences and reputational harm.

Looking into the security in place against bots in UK websites and businesses, DataDome tested over 2,400 major UK-based websites across many sectors. While it found 66% of businesses were ill equipped to fend a simple bot attack, it also found that only 7.9% were able to repel all bot requests, and only 22.8% managed to detect at least some. 

The report found that e-commerce and classified ads were more exposed than other industries, with over 70% of websites in these categories failing all the bot tests. 

The main defence against bots in most websites is CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart), however this recent report even found those ineffective. Of the 515 websites which relied solely on CAPTCHA, less than 4% could detect and block all bots, while 75% failed to detect a single one. 

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“The rising sophistication of bots poses an imminent threat to UK businesses. The financial and reputational havoc that these silent adversaries can wreak is evident. From ticket scalping and inventory manipulation to account fraud, malicious bots leave a trail of chaos affecting both consumers and businesses,” said Antoine Vastel, the head of research at DataDome.

“Failure to counter this menace effectively could inflict substantial reputational harm and put customers at needless risk. Businesses must act swiftly to fortify their defences against this escalating peril.”