Malicious software reportedly generates 39% of all internet traffic

According to experts, the share of malicious bots has been growing for a long time, but the pandemic has accelerated this process. Russia is among the top five countries in terms of the volume of generated unwanted traffic.

According to data from Barracuda Networks, 64% of Internet traffic in January-June 2021 was generated by automated tools. So, 39% of traffic was generated by malicious bots, 25% were generated by useful bots, 36% were generated by humans.

Attackers use bots for DDoS attacks, brute-force passwords from personal accounts, and create phishing sites. Malicious automated programs primarily threaten online stores and marketplaces.

The overwhelming majority of malicious traffic - 67% - is generated in North America. Europe is in second place with an indicator of 22%, Asia is in third place with 8%. The remaining 3% are in Oceania, South America and Africa.

According to Group-IB, Russia is among the top 5 countries in terms of the number of IP addresses from which unwanted traffic comes. "In August 2021, the traffic of bots for DDoS attacks in Russia increased up to 10 times compared to other months," added Olga Baranova, Director of Orange Business Services in Russia and the CIS.

According to Barracuda Networks, in the first half of 2021, malicious bots were most often directed to the websites and services of e-commerce organizations, as well as authorization pages where login and password are required.

According to Alexei Pavlov, Deputy Director of the Solar JSOC Cyber Attack Monitoring and Response Center at Rostelecom-Solar, in Russia, bots are primarily used to attack e-commerce, banks, and public services.

However, experts have recently observed the activity of bots in the energy industry, housing and communal services, medicine, education and entertainment.

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