Airlines are increasingly contending with web scraping, a cyberattack that extracts data from their websites. This year has seen a rise in scraping incidents, driven by new AI-powered services employing bots for large-scale data extraction. In fact, data from the Arkose Global Intelligence Network shows that 72% of cyberattacks in the travel and hospitality industry are web scraping attacks – and that 100% of scraping attacks are perpetrated by bots.
These attacks not only create financial strains but also redirect resources away from strategic growth initiatives. The repercussions are substantial, jeopardizing revenue and customer satisfaction.
Scraping and Its Impacts
In an era where travelers hunt for the best deals and rewards, web scraping has become a major issue for airlines. Scraping involves automated data extraction from websites, often used to gather information on award seat availability. This practice has led to legal battles and debates over its implications for the airline industry.
Airlines are ramping up their website security to combat website scraping. The goal is to protect digital assets, safeguard customer data, and improve the user experience. However, the ongoing struggle against scraping remains a significant operational challenge.
The Double-Edged Sword of Web Scraping
Web scraping has both benefits and drawbacks. Airlines use it for market analysis, monitoring competitor pricing, and gathering data on seat availability. This helps in making informed decisions about pricing, route planning and marketing strategies. However, third-party aggregators and online travel agencies also scrape airline websites, which causes potential revenue loss and erosion of control over pricing and distribution.
Scraping attacks manipulate pricing data and ticket availability, leading to frustrated customers opting for competitors. This results in lost revenue and increased customer churn. The poor user experience from bots reserving tickets for extended periods further erodes market share.
Combatting Scraping: Strategies and Measures
Airlines have taken several measures to counteract scraping. These include:
- Advanced Bot Detection and Mitigation: Investing in cutting-edge solutions to identify and block scraping attempts in real time, helping ensure genuine customers are accessing flight information and services.
- Continuous Monitoring: Employing constant monitoring of digital infrastructure to detect and address scraping activity promptly, reducing the impact on customer experience.
- Legal Framework Strengthening: Strengthening legal frameworks to protect digital assets and customer data, demonstrating a commitment to combating scraping practices.
- User Experience Enhancement: Ensuring a smoother, more reliable online service for legitimate customers by mitigating scraping activity.
Measuring Success Against Scraping
Key success metrics for combating scraping include:
- Improved Detection Efficacy: Accurate assessment and detection of risky traffic, minimizing false positives and negatives.
- Matching Current Detection Capabilities: Ensuring new solutions align with existing detection mechanisms.
- Accurate Detection of Inventory Hoarding: Identifying and combating harmful behaviors like inventory hoarding.
- Higher Good User Throughput: Ensuring anti-scraping measures do not hinder genuine customers, providing a smoother user experience.
These metrics are vital in assessing the effectiveness of solutions and determining the success of efforts against scraping attacks.
The Evolving Challenge
The debate over scraping highlights the evolving challenges and ethical considerations surrounding data access and usage. While scraping offers benefits to travelers, it also disrupts airline operations and creates inequalities among travelers. Constructive dialogue and collaboration are essential for finding balanced solutions that serve airlines, travelers and the broader online community.
The Arkose Bot Manager Solution
Arkose Labs offers a multi-layered defense against data and website scraping. Our patented Arkose Bot Manager platform can detect and stop automated and manual scraping efforts before they can make an impact, without sacrificing the experience of genuine users. This approach protects airlines’ data and maintains customer trust.
For more information on how Arkose Labs can help your business combat scraping, contact us today.
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