The Importance of Bot Management and How Shift Left Security Can Help

The Importance of Bot Management and How Shift Left Security Can Help

online bot security

When it comes to the digital landscape, bots are everywhere. The term “bots” is short for robots — virtual robots, that is. These software programs — designed to imitate human behavior — perform automated tasks faster than humans could ever dream of doing them, which is why bot management is more important than ever. Bots can easily index search engines or provide customer service when used for productive purposes.

Indeed, good bots perform helpful or useful tasks that can enhance a user’s experience on the world wide web. But there is also a horde of malicious bots wreaking havoc on the internet, and on corporate intranets and networks. Malicious bots can — in the form of malware — be used to seize control over computers. By turning the computers of unsuspecting people into virtual zombies, bad actors can use infected computers to steal information and wreak other forms of havoc.

Malicious bots aren’t just a nuisance. They can bring down your company’s network infrastructure, cause unplanned downtime, lead to financial and reputational losses, and potentially threaten your company’s ability to remain a going concern. According to one source, bot traffic accounted for 42.3% of internet activity last year, up from 40.8% the previous year. The same source indicated that malicious bot traffic was close to twice the amount of good bot traffic.

One way you can block bad bots so is through shift left security. But what is shift left security, and how can this branch of the cybersecurity spectrum help you combat the pervasive malicious bot problem? Keep on reading for answers to both of these critical questions.

Shift Left Security: What Is it?

It’s one thing to say that shift left security is the solution to better bot management. But it’s another thing entirely to know exactly what shift left security is. Shift left security is about implementing security checks during the software development state. 

Software development pipelines involve the following five stages:

  1. Design 
  2. Development 
  3. Testing 
  4. Deployment 
  5. Maintenance

During the traditional software development process, quality checks and security tests perform after the development stage wraps up. But just because something is traditional doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best way. If the traditional software development process requires substantial changes or fixes, this potentially results in significant expenses and long delays. 

With a shift left security approach, quality checks and security tests perform during — rather than after — the development phase. If you stop to think about it, it makes more sense to verify that the codebase is secure right off the bat rather than to wait until further into the software development process. Catching and fixing issues early can save time and money. 

Shifting left ensures that feedback gets back to developers sooner rather than later so they’re aware of any security issues during every stage of the software development process. So, shift left security helps software developers deliver the best product possible to the end-user.

Shift Left Security: How Can it Help With Bot Management?

Shift left security tools mean two categories, namely runtime protection tools and security scanning protection tools. On the one hand, runtime protection applications safeguard software during the execution process. On the other hand, security scanning tools streamline security integration. When looking at runtime protection tools, one nice thing is bot management.

Bot management is about finding and blocking bad bots from launching dedicated denial of services (DDoS) attacks on the application layer, credential stuffing, and SQL injection. A bot management solution accomplishes this through measures that include bot traps. Using a bot trap, you can configure a URL to find bad bot activity. One type of bot trap method captures malicious bots that bypass a website’s robots.txt file and seek to send spam traffic or scrape content. So, a bot management shift left security tool can be beneficial.

Bot management is, again, just one runtime protection tool. Other options include runtime application self-protection, web application firewalls, workload protection, and container image and serverless function scanning. Meanwhile, security scanning tools include static application security testing, dynamic application security testing, and software composition analysis. 

It’s important to keep in mind that shift-left technology shouldn’t perform in a piecemeal way. Bot management and the other runtime protection tools as well as security scanning tools are needed. With the shift left security approach, it is possible to develop software that is more secure.

 

DevX's Best Security Products of 2023

Product/SoftwareTypeCost/PlansLink to Purchase
Blink Outdoor 3 Camera SystemCamera System$249Buy Here
Ring Video Doorbell 4Doorbell Cam$220Buy Here
Ring Alarm ProCamera System and Router$299Buy Here
Ring Car CamCar Cam$250Buy Here
Our expert team compiled the best security products of 2023.
DevX Editor

DevX Editor

Share the Post:
Razer Discount

Unbelievable Razer Blade 17 Discount

On September 24, 2023, it was reported that Razer, a popular brand in the premium gaming laptop industry, is offering an exceptional deal on their

Innovation Ignition

New Fintech Innovation Ignites Change

The fintech sector continues to attract substantial interest, as demonstrated by a dedicated fintech stage at a recent event featuring panel discussions and informal conversations

Import Easing

Easing Import Rules for Big Tech

India has chosen to ease its proposed restrictions on imports of laptops, tablets, and other IT hardware, allowing manufacturers like Apple Inc., HP Inc., and

Anthropic Investment

Amazon’s Bold Anthropic Investment

On Monday, Amazon announced its plan to invest up to $4 billion in the AI firm Anthropic, acquiring a minority stake in the process. This

Razer Discount

Unbelievable Razer Blade 17 Discount

On September 24, 2023, it was reported that Razer, a popular brand in the premium gaming laptop industry, is offering an exceptional deal on their Razer Blade 17 model. Typically

Innovation Ignition

New Fintech Innovation Ignites Change

The fintech sector continues to attract substantial interest, as demonstrated by a dedicated fintech stage at a recent event featuring panel discussions and informal conversations with industry professionals. The gathering,

Import Easing

Easing Import Rules for Big Tech

India has chosen to ease its proposed restrictions on imports of laptops, tablets, and other IT hardware, allowing manufacturers like Apple Inc., HP Inc., and Dell Technologies Inc. more time

Semiconductor Stock Plummet

Dramatic Downturn in Semiconductor Stocks Looms

Recent events show that the S&P Semiconductors Select Industry Index seems to be experiencing a downturn, which could result in a decline in semiconductor stocks. Known as a key indicator

Anthropic Investment

Amazon’s Bold Anthropic Investment

On Monday, Amazon announced its plan to invest up to $4 billion in the AI firm Anthropic, acquiring a minority stake in the process. This decision demonstrates Amazon’s commitment to

AI Experts Get Hired

Tech Industry Rehiring Wave: AI Experts Wanted

A few months ago, Big Tech companies were downsizing their workforce, but currently, many are considering rehiring some of these employees, especially in popular fields such as artificial intelligence. The

Lagos Migration

Middle-Class Migration: Undermining Democracy?

As the middle class in Lagos, Nigeria, increasingly migrates to private communities, a PhD scholar from a leading technology institute has been investigating the impact of this development on democratic

AI Software Development

ChatGPT is Now Making Video Games

Pietro Schirano’s foray into using ChatGPT, an AI tool for programming, has opened up new vistas in game and software development. As design lead at business finance firm Brex, Schirano

Llama Codebot

Developers! Here’s Your Chatbot

Meta Platforms has recently unveiled Code Llama, a free chatbot designed to aid developers in crafting coding scripts. This large language model (LLM), developed using Meta’s Llama 2 model, serves

Tech Layoffs

Unraveling the Tech Sector’s Historic Job Losses

Throughout 2023, the tech sector has experienced a record-breaking number of job losses, impacting tens of thousands of workers across various companies, including well-established corporations and emerging startups in areas

Chinese 5G Limitation

Germany Considers Limiting Chinese 5G Tech

A recent report has put forth the possibility that Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community may consider limiting the use of Chinese 5G technology by local network providers

Modern Warfare

The Barak Tank is Transforming Modern Warfare

The Barak tank is a groundbreaking addition to the Israeli Defense Forces’ arsenal, significantly enhancing their combat capabilities. This AI-powered military vehicle is expected to transform the way modern warfare

AI Cheating Growth

AI Plagiarism Challenges Shake Academic Integrity

As generative AI technologies like ChatGPT become increasingly prevalent among students and raise concerns about widespread cheating, prominent universities have halted their use of AI detection software, such as Turnitin’s

US Commitment

US Approves Sustainable Battery Research

The US Department of Energy has revealed a $325 million commitment in the research of innovative battery types, designed to enable solar and wind power as continuous, 24-hour energy sources.

Netanyahu Musk AI

Netanyahu and Musk Discuss AI Future

On September 22, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with entrepreneur Elon Musk in San Francisco prior to attending the United Nations. In a live-streamed discussion, Netanyahu lauded Musk

Urban Gardening

Creating Thriving Cities Through Urban Gardening

The rising popularity of urban gardening is receiving increased recognition for its numerous advantages, as demonstrated in a recent study featured in the Environmental Research Letters journal. Carried out by

What You Need to Know About Cloud Security Strategies

What You Need to Know About Cloud Security Strategies

Today, many businesses are adopting cloud computing services. As a result, it’s important to recognize that security measures for data in the cloud are different from those in traditional on-premises

Romanian Energy Security

Eastern Europe is Achieving Energy Security

Canada and Romania have solidified their commitment to energy security and independence from Russian energy exports by signing a $3-billion export development agreement. The deal is centered on constructing two

Seamless Integration

Unlocking Seamless Smart Home Integration

The vision of an intelligently organized and interconnected smart home that conserves time, energy, and resources has long been desired by many homeowners. However, this aspiration has often been hindered

New Algorithm

MicroAlgo’s Groundbreaking Algorithm

MicroAlgo Inc. has revealed the creation of a knowledge-augmented backtracking search algorithm, developed through extensive research in evolutionary computational techniques. The algorithm is designed to boost problem-solving effectiveness, precision, and

Poland Energy Future

Westinghouse Builds Polish Power Plant

Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel have come together to establish a formal partnership in order to design and construct Poland’s inaugural nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Pomerania.

EV Labor Market

EV Industry Hurting For Skilled Labor

The United Auto Workers strike has highlighted the anticipated change towards a future dominated by electric vehicles (EVs), a shift which numerous people think will result in job losses. However,