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F5 recently released their 2025 Advanced Persistent Bots Report, detailing the growth and sophistication of malicious bot traffic. Bots are increasingly used in cyberattacks, making it essential for defenders and CTI teams to track and mitigate them.
Examples of Malicious Bots:
- Credential stuffing bots – Automate login attempts using stolen credentials.
- Fake account creation bots – Generate fake profiles for spam or fraud.
- Automated purchase bots (reseller bots) – Snatch high-demand products for resale.
- Scraping bots – Extract data from websites without permission.
- Carding bots – Test stolen credit card details on e-commerce sites.
- Gift card checking bots – Validate gift card balances for fraud.
You Should Know:
1. Detecting Bot Traffic with Linux Commands
Use these commands to monitor suspicious traffic:
Check active connections (look for multiple connections from a single IP)
netstat -antp | grep ESTABLISHED
Monitor HTTP requests in real-time
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 -n 'tcp port 80' | awk '{print $3}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr
Analyze web server logs for bot-like patterns
awk '{print $1}' /var/log/nginx/access.log | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head -20
2. Blocking Malicious Bots with .htaccess (Apache)
Add these rules to block known bot user agents:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} (wget|curl|python-requests|bot|scraper) [bash]
RewriteRule ^ - [F,L]
3. Using Fail2Ban to Stop Credential Stuffing
Install and configure Fail2Ban to block brute-force attempts:
sudo apt install fail2ban sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
Edit `/etc/fail2ban/jail.local`:
[bash] enabled = true maxretry = 3 bantime = 1h
4. Windows Defender Against Bots (PowerShell)
Use PowerShell to detect unusual network activity:
List active connections
Get-NetTCPConnection | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Established"} | Select-Object LocalAddress, RemoteAddress
Block an IP using Windows Firewall
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block Malicious Bot" -Direction Inbound -RemoteAddress 123.45.67.89 -Action Block
- Automating Bot Mitigation with AI (Python Script)
A simple script to detect and block bots:
import requests
from firewall import block_ip Hypothetical firewall module
LOG_FILE = "/var/log/nginx/access.log"
THRESHOLD = 100 Max requests per minute
def detect_bots():
ip_counts = {}
with open(LOG_FILE) as f:
for line in f:
ip = line.split()[bash]
ip_counts[bash] = ip_counts.get(ip, 0) + 1
for ip, count in ip_counts.items():
if count > THRESHOLD:
block_ip(ip)
What Undercode Say:
Malicious bots are evolving, and defenders must stay ahead with automated detection and blocking techniques. Use Fail2Ban, firewalls, and AI-driven scripts to mitigate threats. Regularly analyze logs and update security rules to combat credential stuffing, scraping, and fraud bots.
Expected Output:
- Blocked IPs logged in
/var/log/fail2ban.log. - Reduced bot traffic in web analytics.
- Automated alerts on unusual activity.
For deeper insights, read the full F5 Bots Report.
References:
Reported By: Mthomasson F5 – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
