Scraping is the automated collection of data from web pages or portals at scale. Instead of a person reading one page at a time, a script or bot sends repeated requests, parses the responses, and extracts content such as records, profiles, case notes, or search results. It is a common technique for indexing and data analysis, but it also becomes a security concern when used to harvest information without authorization.
In cyber security, scraping matters because it can look like normal user activity while steadily removing large amounts of data. Attackers may use rotating accounts, cookies, or low request rates to avoid obvious spikes. Defenders look for unusual navigation patterns, repeated access to the same datasets, high-volume reads from one source, and requests that do not match a user’s role. Rate limiting, bot detection, monitoring, and access controls help reduce scraping abuse and make quiet collection easier to spot.