CLC number: TP39
On-line Access: 2024-08-27
Received: 2023-10-17
Revision Accepted: 2024-05-08
Crosschecked: 2023-06-09
Cited: 0
Clicked: 1555
Citations: Bibtex RefMan EndNote GB/T7714
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9911-7897
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8571-9780
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8918-6299
Ping HE, Xuhong ZHANG, Changting LIN, Ting WANG, Shouling JI. Towards understanding bogus traffic service in online social networks[J]. Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering, 2024, 25(3): 415-431.
@article{title="Towards understanding bogus traffic service in online social networks",
author="Ping HE, Xuhong ZHANG, Changting LIN, Ting WANG, Shouling JI",
journal="Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering",
volume="25",
number="3",
pages="415-431",
year="2024",
publisher="Zhejiang University Press & Springer",
doi="10.1631/FITEE.2300068"
}
%0 Journal Article
%T Towards understanding bogus traffic service in online social networks
%A Ping HE
%A Xuhong ZHANG
%A Changting LIN
%A Ting WANG
%A Shouling JI
%J Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering
%V 25
%N 3
%P 415-431
%@ 2095-9184
%D 2024
%I Zhejiang University Press & Springer
%DOI 10.1631/FITEE.2300068
TY - JOUR
T1 - Towards understanding bogus traffic service in online social networks
A1 - Ping HE
A1 - Xuhong ZHANG
A1 - Changting LIN
A1 - Ting WANG
A1 - Shouling JI
J0 - Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering
VL - 25
IS - 3
SP - 415
EP - 431
%@ 2095-9184
Y1 - 2024
PB - Zhejiang University Press & Springer
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DOI - 10.1631/FITEE.2300068
Abstract: Critical functionality and huge influence of the hot trend/topic page (HTP) in microblogging sites have driven the creation of a new kind of underground service called the bogus traffic service (BTS). BTS provides a kind of illegal service which hijacks the HTP by pushing the controlled topics into it for malicious customers with the goal of guiding public opinions. To hijack HTP, the agents of BTS maintain an army of black-market accounts called bogus traffic accounts (BTAs) and control BTAs to generate a burst of fake traffic by massively retweeting the tweets containing the customer desired topic (hashtag). Although this service has been extensively exploited by malicious customers, little has been done to understand it. In this paper, we conduct a systematic measurement study of the BTS. We first investigate and collect 125 BTS agents from a variety of sources and set up a honey pot account to capture BTAs from these agents. We then build a BTA detector that detects 162 218 BTAs from Weibo, the largest Chinese microblogging site, with a precision of 94.5%. We further use them as a bridge to uncover 296 916 topics that might be involved in bogus traffic. Finally, we uncover the operating mechanism from the perspectives of the attack cycle and the attack entity. The highlights of our findings include the temporal attack patterns and intelligent evasion tactics of the BTAs. These findings bring BTS into the spotlight. Our work will help in understanding and ultimately eliminating this threat.
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