It used to be that bot attacks were attributed to groups of compromised computers sending a flood of targeted traffic to a server’s IP address with the goal of knocking that particular system off the network. Though denial-of-service attacks of this type still exist, the bots used today are much more versatile than their predecessors from twenty years ago.

Today’s bots are more advanced and sophisticated and not only target computer systems’ network connectivity, but also attack applications and their supporting tech. From APIs to mobile apps to websites, the number of technical elements in today’s IT infrastructures has grown significantly. Now these numerous devices and services give hackers and other malicious agents more targets to choose from and to compromise, like user accounts, credentials, shopping carts, and data repositories.

Exclusive Networks and its cloud-native subsidiary, Nuaware, recently established a partnership with F5, a leader in enterprise cloud, application security and delivery services. This alliance adds F5’s list of Distributed Cloud Services, including Bot Defense solution to Exclusive Networks’ vast catalog of vendor products and services. Giving Exclusive Networks’ customers the ability to build bundled solutions to securely connect, deploy, and manage their applications across multiple cloud environments.

By using Bot Defense, Exclusive Networks customers are able to use a scalable and adaptable management platform that combines supervised and unsupervised machine learning, pattern matching, and human expertise. Bot Defense also adds the use of high-efficacy identity and verification engines to analyze incoming traffic and accurately determine if an incoming application request is authentic or fraudulent.

Depending on the customer’s needs, F5’s Distributed Cloud Services Bot Defense is available in four different models, including:

• Fully Managed Service – This 100% fully managed option is available for individual clients needing a dedicated team s to monitor and mitigate bot protection.
• Partially Managed Service – Bot Defense roles are split between the customers and the SOC experts in F5’s TACTICS threat intelligence team, who also manage the service’s related configuration and availability features.
• Self-Managed SaaS Stack – Using F5’s Bot Defense SaaS cloud service, which includes continuous updates and improvements, customers task themselves to self-deploy and self-manage their own security options.
• Self-Managed Hybrid Stack – Customers that choose this hybrid architected option control every aspect of the Bot Defense service, including design, deployment, management, and operations.

The complexity and scale of today’s bot attacks easily overshadow what we experienced during the internet’s adolescent years. Hackers now possess more tools to work with and have a wider range of targets to aim their attacks towards. To counter these attacks, F5 – with its Distributed Cloud Services Bot Defense solution, is able to provide the technology needed to identify and mitigate incoming malicious bot-transported requests, giving IT security teams the necessary defense against attacks. Exclusive Networks and Nuaware can assist customers in choosing the right F5 Bot defense options that are right for them, along with other possible solutions from Exclusive Networks’ catalog of available cybersecurity solutions. For more information about F5’s Distributed Cloud Services Bot Defense, be sure to contact Exclusive Networks and Nuaware today.