Not every Internet traffic data is made by humans. For example, not every visitor to a website is a human being exploring the content. A very big share of these numbers is bots. The percentage of malicious traffic bots it’s also rising and the Internet as we know it is facing great changes.
The data is expressed in the Thales 2026 Report about malicious bots. It’s also a warning on the use of Artificial Intelligence and the development of automation technology. These are the main reasons for a high rising in bots activity. Malicious bots in particular may affect security and privacy of users all around the world.
Bots traffic is more present than ever
According to Thales 2026 Report, human Internet traffic keeps decreasing in total percentage. In 2025 bots traffic represented 53% and 40% was assigned to malicious bots. In comparison to 2024, the presence of AI bots is even higher because it represented 50%.
The bots are designed to interact without human intervention and represent more than half the Internet traffic today. You can program a bot to perform different malicious tasks like frauds, API attacks or false clicks, among other strategies. AI has also made these malicious bots easier to create.
There are also tools called bots-as-a-service that allow you to pay for a bot even if you don’t know how to create one. The future of the Internet is clearly influenced by AI and bots creation tools. According to Tim Chang, Global Vicepresident and General Director of Thales’ App’s Security, AI is changing technology as we know it. Companies nowadays have to block it as well as manage it in order to fully make use of it.
How to protect yourself from malicious bots?
Bots Internet traffic and the presence of malicious software represents a high percentage today. It’s not easy to face this problem and the report indicates that attacks have multiplied 12.5. Most of them are AI driven. You can receive false e-mails, social network interactions or even access a hacker controlled website without knowing.
In order to protect yourself, you first need to fully guard your accounts. Make sure you use secure passwords and 2 steps authentication methods. That way you are adding a new security layer. It’s also important to avoid any link you receive in an e-mail, social network message or SMS. Bots usually try to steal identity of different users to gain your trust.
Finally, make sure you have your devices and software fully updated. It’s also a good idea to install an antivirus and software to detect and eliminate threats immediately. To sum up, malicious bots traffic in the Internet is rising. You need to fully comprehend and be aware of these tools in order to avoid an attack to your data.