New solution uses Akamai insight combined with behavioural analytics to shield users from account takeover.
Akamai Technologies has launched its new Account Protector solution as a part of Akamai’s Platform Update and designed to increase responsiveness and augment security decision-making, the digital experiences service provider announced on 17 June.
Using proprietary behavioural analytics and reputation heuristics, the solution is designed to extend the Akamai Bot Manager solution to also detect and prevent account takeover attacks by human threat actors in real time, without increasing friction for legitimate users. According to company sources, the solution is integrated into the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform instead of attached at a single point, so it requires no changes to existing applications.
Akamai said in a statement that Account Protector generates a user session risk score in real time during authentication, combining:
- User behaviour profiles based on signals like previously observed locations, networks, devices, and activity time. Account Protector does this while complying with data privacy laws and frameworks like GDPR and others.
- Population profiles that give a view of the behaviour of a company’s user set. Variances in behaviour can be compared to the entire population to detect anomalies, even if an individual user is logging in for the first time.
- Reputation data based on observed malicious activity across the network and IP, such as indications of bot activity, one user connecting from multiple locations in a short span of time, attempting to access a large number of users, and a high percentage of failed login attempts. Akamai utilizes its own vast activity databases, leveraging clean and reliable data to analyze for legitimate and malicious activity.
“As digital assets have become increasingly under threat, Akamai customers have asked us to expand our protections to human-generated fraud. We’re addressing this critical need with a highly sophisticated ‘digital fingerprint’ approach that strengthens protection without placing additional burdens on the end user,” said Eric Graham, vice president, Security Product Management, Akamai. “Account Protector is a powerful tool for enhancing trust and user satisfaction, reducing the burden of remediation, and empowering organisations to make better, data-driven security decisions. It’s a key element in Akamai’s strategy to provide the world’s most secure platform for edge computing, and we’re proud that customers want us to be a key partner on their digital journeys.”
