Oxylabs.io - Experts & Thought Leaders

Oxylabs, a major web intelligence platform and proxy provider, has announced the launch of Oxylabs AI Studio, a groundbreaking platform designed to host advanced AI-based web scraping applications. With four innovative applications now available, users can register and explore these tools for free, marking a significant step forward in the accessibility of web scraping technology. Natural language prompts "All the apps available on AI Studio follow natural language prompts. Thus, operating them requires only a minimal understanding of web scraping,” said Julius Černiauskas, CEO of Oxylabs. “This way, we enable more developers, interested in public web data, to work on their projects and enhance their skills. At the same time, we are learning which of our experimental apps answer the current market needs, signaling the direction for our future efforts." Extracting valuable data The AI Studio features an AI-Crawler that enables users to utilize natural language prompts to crawl websites The AI Studio features an AI-Crawler that enables users to utilize natural language prompts to crawl websites, starting from a specified URL. This application can efficiently find relevant pages and extract valuable data. Another app, the AI-Scraper, allows users to describe their scraping needs in plain English, resulting in parsed data tailored to their specifications. Large language models Another standout feature is the Browser Agent, an AI-driven tool that mimics human activity while browsing websites based on natural language instructions. The fourth application, AI-Search, autonomously searches the web to find information requested by users in straightforward English. Oxylabs AI Studio is suitable for both private web scraping projects and business use cases. Users can choose what platform features they want to use and how. They can either carry out all the crawling, scraping, and parsing tasks on the platform or request only minimal services, integrating them into their internal systems and using large language models (LLMS) on their side. Empowering the web scraping community AI Studio comes after the success of OxyCopilot, the first-ever AI copilot for web scraping "We want to empower the web scraping community, giving them all the control and flexibility they need. Thus, we plan to increase the platform's flexibility and integration capabilities as we move forward," said Černiauskas. AI Studio comes after the success of OxyCopilot, the first-ever AI copilot for web scraping, introduced last year. At that time, market research uncovered that 77% of web intelligence professionals have tried using AI-powered web scraping tools, with 86% stating that it saves time and resources. Thus, further innovation in this direction —automating and democratising public web data gathering —was always on the horizon for Oxylabs. Keeping the innovative edge In the future, the company plans to increase the number of apps on AI Studio. One of the goals of the platform is to put the AI applications developed by the company’s research and development department into action as soon as possible. Juras Juršėnas, Chief Operations Officer at Oxylabs, emphasized the importance of keeping the innovative edge even as one grows into a bigger company. "At Oxylabs, we are always about experimenting and being at the forefront of innovation.” “Thus, when it comes to fast-moving industries like AI, we want to keep up with its pace and move with the agility of a startup, even as our company continues to grow. And this is what AI Studio is all about. It allows tools to meet their real-life applications and unlock their potential as soon as they become viable." With the launch of AI Studio, Oxylabs is poised to deliver innovative solutions to the market at an unprecedented pace, reinforcing its commitment to leading the way in web scraping technology.

Web intelligence provider Oxylabs helps its clients address growing cases of online fraud with proactive measures to safeguard businesses and mitigate risks. Online fraud threat The threat of online fraud is on the rise, with counterfeited merchandise sales, data breaches, and email phishing attempts posing significant risks to businesses. Fortunately, companies have effective strategies at their disposal to combat fraudulent activities and prevent such crimes from occurring. Andrius Palionis, VP of Enterprise Solutions at Oxylabs, has identified some of the most common types of online fraud and shares solutions to tackle these threats head-on. Counterfeit product sales and intellectual property theft  The sale of illegally branded goods currently represents a staggering 3.3% of global trade According to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the sale of illegally branded goods currently represents a staggering 3.3% of global trade.  Palionis stresses that fighting against this issue is crucial, given that it is recognized as the largest criminal enterprise in the world, estimated to generate $1.7-4.5 trillion annually. Minimize costs "Finding illegitimate sellers in the vast expanse of the internet is a daunting task. To address this, custom web crawling solutions can be employed to scan marketplaces for suspicious listings, allowing companies to gather evidence and take appropriate legal actions." "The use of both residential and datacentre proxies can maximize success and minimize costs." Email fraud Email fraud, particularly the use of deceptive emails impersonating managers to request fund transfers, has already caused significant financial losses. The US FBI reported that over three years, this type of fraud led to $2.3 billion in damages. Two-pronged approach Secondly, implementing email protection protocols can shield businesses from phishing attacks" Palionis recommends a two-pronged approach, "Firstly, educating employees about email fraud and fostering awareness is imperative. Secondly, implementing email protection protocols can shield businesses from phishing attacks." "These protocols employ internal scrapers to scan incoming and outgoing emails for phishing attempts, verify links, and monitor attachments, enhancing protection against coordinated attacks targeted at entire companies." Data breaches Data breaches that expose sensitive information can be devastating. Besides costing substantial amounts of money, they have the potential to irreversibly harm a company’s reputation and lead to permanent loss of business.  A recent IBM report revealed that the average total cost of a data breach in the US rose to a record high of $9.44 million in 2021. Use of web crawlers Residential proxies provide a diverse range of IP addresses, enabling crawlers to access critical data" “To lessen the impact of data breaches, cybersecurity companies can utilize web crawlers to monitor suspicious websites, detect leaks, and issue timely alerts. Residential proxies provide a diverse range of IP addresses, enabling crawlers to access critical data while evading detection." "In cases where geo-location restrictions are absent, data center proxies can be used. A combination of both types of proxies makes for an efficient and cost-effective solution." Leveraging advanced data scrapping strategies Palionis concludes, "Staying ahead of online fraud is certainly possible but it requires several proactive measures." "Leveraging advanced data scraping technologies and strategies means that businesses can protect themselves and their customers from the ever-evolving landscape of online threats."

As technology progresses, data breaches continue to skyrocket and this isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. It is predicted that by the end of 2023 the cost of cybercrime is going to hit just under £6.5 trillion. Acquiring threat intelligence data is a primary step in preventing cyberattacks, and web scraping should be the method of choice for modern data-driven businesses. This is according to Andrius Palionis, VP of Enterprise Sales at Oxylabs. Possible attack scenarios Threat intelligence gives businesses the tools to defend their networks and protect their data. A well-rounded cybersecurity strategy uses threat intelligence to automatically receive cyber threat data enabling organizations to prepare action plans based on possible attack scenarios. Cyberattacks are growing in frequency, severity, and sophistication as the demand for data grows" “Cyberattacks are growing in frequency, severity, and sophistication as the demand for data grows,” said Palionis. “Common factors leading to data breaches include engaging third-party services, network operation risks, extensive cloud migration, increased system complexity, and compliance failures. These data breaches not only damage the reputation of companies, but also cause severe financial distress.” Mitigating cyber threats According to a recent IBM report, the average cost of a data breach is £150 per record. With an average size of 25,575 records lost per incident, a cyberattack has the potential to cost a business £3.92 million. “This is a stark reminder that businesses of all sizes are at risk of a data breach and subsequent financial loss. As cyber criminals gain expertise and attacks become more frequent, companies risk facing serious consequences that may negatively impact customer trust.” “Companies must invest in threat intelligence to stay ahead of criminals and keep their data safe. In addition to investing in threat intelligence, businesses must implement a multi-layered security approach to identify and mitigate cyber threats before they can cause damage. Strategies may include effective data governance and processing, careful planning, analysis, and dissemination.” Cyber threat intelligence Cybercriminals attempt to escape detection by identifying cybersecurity company servers" “Quality intelligence that is current and relevant has proven to be vital to the success of cybersecurity strategies. Cyber threat intelligence targets identifies, manages and minimizes cyberattacks by gathering information from across the web, including darknet forums and websites. Cybersecurity experts are adopting web scraping to obtain high-level insights and extract this important information from target websites.” Palionis continued: “Web scraping processes involve sending data requests to the target website server, and extracting and parsing data into an easily readable format followed by detailed analysis. Cybercriminals attempt to escape detection by identifying cybersecurity company servers and blocking their IP addresses. To address this issue, datacentre and residential proxies are being used to maintain anonymity, avoid geo-location restrictions, and balance server requests to prevent bans.” Effective data governance “Managing threats and data processing can benefit significantly from effective data governance. By implementing key governance practices, businesses can create value, improve productivity and increase data safety.” Palionis concluded: “Despite a sharp increase in ransomware attacks, many businesses still lack comprehensive data security. Data collection has become a daily activity even for businesses not directly involved in the industry, so understanding that data security is no longer an afterthought is essential. Threat intelligence forms the backbone of an overall strategy that gives businesses the tools to defend their networks and protect their data.”