With malicious bots on the loose, app developers may wish to try out this fraud protection tool for 60 days.

At a time when the majority of consumer transactions are completed online during pandemic-related lockdown and social distancing laws, one global cyber protection company is offering to provide mobile app developers with 60 days of free subscription to its dedicated bot mitigation solution.

The company, SHIELD, estimates that more than half of all mobile internet traffic is by bots, with almost a quarter of all mobile traffic being malicious. Left unchecked, these automated attacks can cause millions of dollars in losses.

This is especially relevant to the US$ 100 billion Southeast Asia digital economy, where 90% of the 360 million internet users in region connect to the internet primarily through mobile phones.

Justin Lie, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SHIELD, said, “COVID-19 has not only been hard on the general population, but it has also had a significant impact on businesses globally, who are facing a great deal of uncertainty. Bot attacks are a real and increasing problem for many e-commerce businesses and digital wallets. We hope that our BotSHIELD Program can help mobile apps grow—worrying less about the threat of fraud and instead focusing efforts on driving profitability and scaling without risk.”

Tommy Chieng, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at SEA Gamer Mall added: “Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated: in the past few months we have seen a three-fold increase in the number of bot attacks on our website and mobile apps.”

According to Lie, SHIELD’s technology has been critical in blocking this malicious traffic. His company’s BotSHIELD product is a plug-and-play solution that can be deployed within minutes to provide real-time protection for digital ecosystems, he says.

The free subscription program is valued at US$2 million, and interested readers can find out more here.