By Benjamin Fabre, Co-founder and CEO, DataDome

As we enter 2025, the threat landscape for bot management and cyberfraud protection continues to evolve. The growing sophistication of bots, fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), presents new challenges for businesses worldwide. From "cyber ghost" bots that evade detection with near-perfect precision to the surge in AI-powered bots spreading misinformation that undermines trust across platforms, organizations must navigate a complex web of threats. 

Here are the top threats to expect in 2025:

The rise of cyber "ghost" bots will spark a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game 

The cyber arms race between bot developers and defenders will escalate as cybercriminals increasingly deploy "anti-detectable" bots with advanced evasion tactics, and DataDome's Advanced Threat Research found that fewer than 5% of businesses can adequately protect themselves and their customers from these "ghost" bots.   

Bot developers are using anti-fingerprinting headless browsers, a new tool that makes detection much more challenging. For example, this year Chrome's Headless mode was updated to achieve a near-perfect browser fingerprint, making these automated sessions nearly indistinguishable from real user sessions. In response, bot mitigation teams turned to CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol) detection as a countermeasure, but bot creators quickly adapted, incorporating anti-CDP detection techniques and advanced anti-detect frameworks to evade these defenses.   

These anti-detect browsers excel at randomizing fingerprints, enabling bots to bypass basic security checks. Defenders will need to proactively stay ahead of these advancements, constantly adapting to anticipate the next wave of bot attacks and maintain robust protection against increasingly stealthy bot traffic.  

Fraudsters will continue to deploy basic bot attacks (and get away with it)

Basic bot attacks aren't going anywhere, even as bots become more sophisticated and scalable with the use of generative AI tools. DataDome's 2024 Global Bot Security Report found nearly 2 in 3 businesses were completely unprotected against basic bots. The most successful basic bots were the fake Chrome bots, with only 15.82% detected-leaving businesses at risk for layer 7 DDoS attacks, account takeover fraud and other automated threats.  

Advanced AI-powered bots will fuel an unprecedented wave of misinformation 

Advanced AI-powered bots will fuel an unprecedented wave of misinformation, putting social media platforms squarely in the line of fire. Malicious actors are increasingly deploying these bots to flood networks with false content, manipulating recommendation algorithms to amplify deceptive narratives through inflated engagement metrics.   

In 2024 alone, DataDome's Advanced Threat Research team found that sophisticated bots evade traditional CAPTCHA defenses over 95% of the time, mimicking real users with a high accuracy rate. What once required coding expertise to launch now requires minimal skills, making bot-driven misinformation campaigns easier and cheaper to execute at scale. Beyond the manipulation of public perception, these bots also pose a growing threat to user security by harvesting credentials and personal data.   

Bots will snatch up high-profile event tickets   

As the online ticketing market approaches $68 billion in 2025, bots will increasingly target high-profile event sales, creating a battleground for ticketing platforms and fraud prevention. The barrier to entry for bot makers has never been this low due to new bot frameworks, basic defenses like CAPTCHAs becoming less effective, and Bots-as-a-Service (BaaS) tools available for as little as $50. Even users with minimal technical skills can flood ticketing platforms and monopolize tickets at scale.   

The sophistication of bot attacks continues to evolve alongside the lucrative opportunities in cybercrime. The Taylor Swift ticket fiasco is a prime example of both the increasing sophistication of bots and the massive payday threat actors see in scalping tickets. For businesses that conduct transactions or handle sensitive data online, robust fraud detection has become essential.   

AI and ML-based fraud detection are increasingly vital for combating these threats. Unlike static defenses that rely on preset rules, dynamic learning systems can adapt in real-time, responding to evolving bot tactics and providing essential protection against financial and operational losses.  

The future of bot management and cyberfraud protection hinges on innovation and adaptability. As threats become more advanced and accessible to malicious actors, businesses must adapt to stay protected. By understanding these emerging risks and implementing proactive, robust cyberfraud protection measures, organizations can protect their customers, data and reputations in an increasingly hostile digital environment.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benjamin Fabre is the co-founder and CEO of DataDome, boasting nearly 20 years' experience leading scalable cloud infrastructure, AI-powered data stream processing, and SaaS technologies. Through his leadership, DataDome has become the leader in cyberfraud protection, protecting over 300 enterprise customers globally.