Publisher’s Spotlight: F5: Multi-Cloud Security and Application Delivery

F5 is a multi-cloud application services and security company committed to bringing a better digital world to life.​​​​​​​ F5 partners with the world’s largest, most advanced organizations to secure and optimize every app and API anywhere—on premises, in the cloud, or at the edge. F5 enables organizations to provide exceptional, secure digital experiences for their customers and continuously stay ahead of threats. 85% of the Fortune 500 and many of the largest organizations across the globe rely on F5 to protect and enable the applications and digital experiences that are central to their digital transformation efforts and growth.

“A little over a year ago, I estimated that more than 80% of Twitter’s accounts are actually fake. Since Elon Musk bought Twitter, he has made strides to fix this issue. He’s gotten rid of many of the fake accounts created and controlled by bots, however the more ‘sticky’ fake accounts persist on the platform. These are more expensive to buy and harder to get rid of. For my research I bought about 102,000 fake Twitter followers, and in the time since Musk took over, I now have only about ten or eleven thousand followers; so that’s how many fake accounts went away, but of course some of those ‘sticky’ fake accounts are still there, and they are typically controlled by bots. So, we can see that while the bot problem on Twitter has gotten better, it hasn’t gone away,” said Dan Woods, Global Head of Bot and Risk Management at F5

F5 solutions safeguard billions of transactions every day. We protect passwords, bank accounts, medical records, family photos, and other personal data—the most precious digital assets of our personal and professional lives—for millions of people around the globe.  Some interesting stats:

• On average, about 2 billion transactions flow through F5’s bot defense infrastructure every day, and we have briefed hundreds of companies in virtually every industry about their bot traffic.
• A few years ago, a U.S. social networking site deployed F5’s bot defense and discovered that 99% of their login traffic was automated. Yes, you read that right—99%.
• In fact, we find 80–99% of traffic is automated on many applications. These findings are not a corner case—they’re common across many organizations (retailers, financial institutions, telcos, and quick-service restaurants, to name a few).

One of the key anti-fraud technologies that F5 offers is its Distributed Cloud Bot Defense, which uses AI to achieve unparalleled long-term efficacy and zero customer friction to stay ahead of bots. Sneaker bots were disrupting the launches of new products from PUMA North America, disappointing customers and taking the site down for hours at a time—until help from F5 Distributed Cloud Bot Defense mitigated the attacks and enabled a better experience for PUMA’s loyal fans. Once the Distributed Cloud Bot Defense solution was in place, PUMA North America launched several high-demand shoes without automated traffic degrading site performance.

“We went from a situation where we were not even taking sales on the site to alleviating that. This solution kept the lights on, so to speak, for new and loyal consumers alike,” said Rick Almeida, Vice President of e-Commerce at PUMA North America. “Now we can focus on the go-to-market strategy and sales, and we can deliver on consumer expectations.” The team has since deployed Distributed Cloud Bot Defense to protect its shopping app, too. “No matter where we’re selling our product, we’re making sure we’re delivering a great experience for our consumers and also protecting ourselves,” Almeida continued. “The F5 solution contributes directly toward our ambitions for future growth.”

As end-user expectations for digital experiences to always be available and secure grow and regulations hold companies accountable for the safety and security of data, companies need to adopt a multi-cloud networking solution that spans from the transport layer to the presentation layers, with integrated application security capabilities, such as a web app firewall (WAF), API security, bot management, and DDoS protection. That is why they are investing heavily in their F5 Distributed Cloud Platform, a hybrid and multi-cloud solution built to make it easier to secure, deliver, and optimize traditional and modern apps wherever they’re deployed.

To learn more, visit: https://www.f5.com/cloud/products/bot-defense

About the Publisher

Gary Miliefsky, Publisher & Author.  Gary Miliefsky is an internationally recognized cybersecurity expert, bestselling author and keynote speaker. He is a Founding Member of the US Department of Homeland Security, served on the National Information Security Group and served on the OVAL advisory board of MITRE responsible for the CVE Program. He founded and is the Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine since 2012. Visit Gary online at: https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com/