Web Scraping
What is web scraping ?
Web Scraping (also known as Web Harvesting or data extraction) is the automated process of extracting data or content from websites. Bots or scripts crawl web pages, gather information, and export it into structured formats like databases or spreadsheets.
Used both by individuals and businesses, scraping has legitimate applications, but it’s also widely used for malicious and illegal activities such as content theft, data breaches, and unfair SEO tactics.
How is web scraping used ?
Legal & ethical use cases :
Price comparison and market research.
Monitoring classifieds or job listings.
Analyzing reviews or trends.
Collecting public data (with respect to privacy laws like GDPR).
Malicious & illegal use cases :
Data scraping of personal or confidential information (violates GDPR & privacy laws).
Content scraping to duplicate entire websites or steal SEO content.
Competitive intelligence abuse through unauthorized crawling.
Database harvesting from platforms like LinkedIn or eCommerce sites.
⚠️ Warning : Most malicious scrapers disguise themselves as legitimate bots (e.g. Googlebot) or use fake accounts and proxy networks.
How do web scraping attack work ?
A scraping attack typically happens in 3 distinct stages :
Target configuration : Bots are set up with specific URLs to crawl, often mimicking human behavior or disguising themselves as trusted crawlers.
Automated crawling : Multiple bots (or botnets) access pages simultaneously, often consuming server resources and degrading performance.
Content & data extraction : Information is collected in bulk (product prices, proprietary text, personal data) and exported to a third-party database.
Why is web scraping dangerous ?
Without protection, scraping bots can :
Steal valuable business data or customer information.
Copy your website entirely, harming your SEO rankings and brand image.
Cause site performance issues through high traffic loads.
Compromise pricing strategies by feeding your data to competitors.
Trigger security breaches, especially when combined with brute force or fake account creation.
How to detect web scraping activity ?
Common signs of a scraping attack :
Sudden spikes in traffic from unknown or foreign IPs.
Unusual session durations (too short or extremely long).
Multiple fake accounts registering simultaneously.
High volume of page views without conversions.
Suspicious download behavior or bulk form submissions.
Use tools like CloudFilt, server logs, and traffic analyzers to detect bot behavior in real time.
How to protect your website from web scraping ?
Manual techniques :
Use CAPTCHAs on forms and login pages.
Block known bad IPs and user agents.
Monitor account creation patterns.
Rate-limit API and page access.
Prevent bots using robots.txt (not secure, but a basic step).
Best practice : Use an automated protection solution : CloudFilt offers advanced Web scraping protection that :
Detects bot behavior from both front-end and back-end.
Blocks scraping attempts in real-time, without hurting SEO bots.
Differentiates between human traffic and sophisticated bots.
Provides full visibility into scraping activity and IP profiles.
👉 CloudFilt’s AI-powered system ensures your content, pricing, and customer data stay safe, while real users continue to enjoy seamless access.
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