Akamai Introduces Content Protector to Combat Scraping Attacks

 Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), a leading cloud company providing online protection, has unveiled Content Protector, a revolutionary product designed specifically to thwart scraping attacks while preserving legitimate website traffic crucial for business growth.

Scraper bots play a vital role in the commerce landscape, aiding in content search, product comparison, and updating product information for consumers. However, they are also utilized for harmful activities such as competitive price manipulation, surveillance for inventory hoarding, and counterfeiting. Moreover, scrapers can disrupt website performance by continuously pinging sites, leading to consumer frustration and decreased engagement. In recent years, scrapers have become increasingly sophisticated and elusive.

Akamai’s Content Protector is engineered to identify and neutralize evasive scrapers engaged in content theft for malicious purposes. It offers enhanced detection capabilities with fewer false negatives and maintains a low rate of false positives. Tailored detections include:

Protocol-level evaluation: Assessing how clients establish connections with servers across various layers of the OSI model to ensure alignment with common web browser and mobile application parameters.

Application-level scrutiny: Examining a client’s ability to execute JavaScript-based business logic, collecting device and browser data for consistency verification.

User interaction analysis: Observing human interaction with the client through standard peripherals to distinguish between bot and legitimate traffic.

User behavior monitoring: Tracking website user journeys to detect abnormal patterns indicative of bot activity.

Risk assessment: Providing a low, medium, or high-risk classification based on identified anomalies during evaluation.

Rupesh Chokshi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Application Security at Akamai, emphasized the detrimental impact of content scraping on businesses. He highlighted Content Protector’s role in mitigating such risks, enabling business leaders to safeguard their intellectual property, reputation, and revenue streams while fostering digital business growth.