Imperva Case Studies StubHub's Battle Against Bots: Protecting Content, Preventing Account Takeover, and Ensuring Accurate Conversion Rates
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StubHub's Battle Against Bots: Protecting Content, Preventing Account Takeover, and Ensuring Accurate Conversion Rates

Imperva
Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
Analytics & Modeling - Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Education
Equipment & Machinery
Procurement
Warehouse & Inventory Management
Chatbots
Traffic Monitoring
Cybersecurity Services
Data Science Services
StubHub, a leading ticket marketplace, was facing a series of challenges due to the activities of malicious bots. These bots were scraping pricing and inventory data from StubHub's website, selling this proprietary information to competitors, and reposting it on other platforms. This not only led to StubHub's pricing being undercut but also resulted in the theft and misuse of customer accounts. The problem was further exacerbated by the availability of stolen login information and password reuse, which facilitated account takeovers leading to buyer and seller fraud. Additionally, StubHub's site was under constant attack from Advanced Persistent Bots (APBs) that could imitate human-like interactions and blend in with human traffic. These bots were causing a significant increase in site traffic, leading to skewed analytics and artificially low conversion rates.
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StubHub, an eBay company, is one of the world's largest ticket marketplaces. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, StubHub's mission is to help fans find fun. The platform enables fans to buy and sell tens of thousands of tickets whenever they want, through both desktop and mobile experiences, including apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Android. StubHub's accounts hold significant value due to the ease and speed of purchasing and selling tickets on its platform, making it a prime target for cyber thieves.
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To combat these challenges, StubHub partnered with Imperva, a cybersecurity company. Imperva implemented a series of measures to protect StubHub's proprietary information and customer accounts. They proactively blocked persistent web scraping campaigns, thereby protecting pricing and inventory information and maintaining StubHub's competitive pricing advantage. To prevent account takeovers, Imperva prevented credential stuffing bots from accessing the site, which significantly lowered fraud and improved StubHub's brand reputation among customers. To tackle the issue of APBs, Imperva used advanced fingerprinting technology, behavioral analysis, and machine learning to distinguish between bot and human traffic. They also implemented dynamic access controls to further secure the site. To correct skewed conversion tracking, Imperva blocked 99.9% of bad bots, which lowered page view traffic by 50% and resulted in higher conversion rates and improved sales funnel reporting.
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The implementation of Imperva's solutions led to a significant improvement in StubHub's operational efficiency and security. By blocking persistent web scraping campaigns, StubHub was able to protect its proprietary information and maintain its competitive edge in the market. The prevention of account takeovers not only reduced fraud but also improved StubHub's brand reputation among its customers, leading to increased customer trust and loyalty. The blocking of APBs and other bad bots resulted in more accurate site analytics and conversion tracking, enabling StubHub to make more informed business decisions. Furthermore, the reduction in bot traffic led to decreased load on the site, preventing downtime and ensuring a smoother user experience for customers.
99.9% of bad bots blocked
Lowered page view traffic by 50%
Significant reduction in fraud
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