Mystery Bots From China Target Websites

A significant and unexplained surge of automated bot traffic has begun targeting websites globally, with a notable concentration originating from China and Singapore. Website operators, including a Bogotá-based data analyst and a lifestyle magazine in India, have reported unexpected increases in visits. This bot activity is easily identifiable due to the peculiar user behavior, such as zero-second dwell times on pages.

While initial data pointed to Lanzhou, China, as the origin, further analysis suggests the traffic might be routed through Singapore. This raises questions about the true source of the automated visits. The bot activity has impacted a wide array of online entities, including personal portfolios, e-commerce sites, and even U.S. government domains.

Industry experts speculate that the widespread bot activity could be linked to the growing demand for web data used in training artificial intelligence models. Companies like Tencent, Alibaba, and Huawei, major cloud service providers, have been identified as potential conduits for this traffic. Investigations are ongoing to determine the exact origin and purpose of these sophisticated bots.