Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

July 2023

Why Taylor Swift Fans Got Blocked For Being Bots

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has literally been the hottest ticket in music over the past few months, with millions of fans scrambling for their spot in arenas and stadiums around the world. But many “Swifties” have been left heartbroken as the demand far outstrips the number of tickets available. To make the pill even more bitter to swallow, there are plenty of tickets available to buy for the sold-out shows – but at many times their face value, on secondary markets.

Cybersecurity Sessions S02E03: Bots vs consumers, social media APIs, ticket scalping legislation

In this month’s episode, we start by focusing on the real-world impact of bots (scripts used to automate tasks and exploit business logic). In the UK, bots are being used to book up every available driving test before reselling them for profit; meanwhile in the US, gig workers delivering groceries are losing out to bots that hoard the most profitable delivery jobs. Our panel explains how this happens and discusses what can be done to stop it.