Queue-it, the leading provider of virtual waiting room services, and Akamai Technologies Inc., the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online, announce the launch of Hype Event Protection. The new joint solution delivers advanced bot protection during high-demand, limited-inventory “hype events” like product drops, concert ticket sales, collectible releases, and brand collaborations.
Hype events are magnets for bots, which can outnumber genuine customers by 20 to 1. Automated scripts exploit speed and scale to scoop up inventory, reselling it on secondary markets at inflated prices. Loyal customers lose out, and organizations pay the price through eroded trust and higher operational costs.
Hype Event Protection combines the robust detection of Akamai Bot Manager with the powerful traffic management of Queue-it’s virtual waiting room to remove bots’ two biggest advantages: speed and scale. Queue-it controls traffic into the sale, giving Akamai more time and data to identify malicious visitors. When the sale opens, customers are randomized and placed in the online queue. At that point, bots are blocked or forced to re-join at the end of the line. By delaying mitigation until it’s too late for bots to retool, the solution slams the door on automated abuse—delivering fairer events, reduced load, and faster access for genuine visitors.
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One of Europe’s largest ticketing providers used Hype Event Protection for several onsales in August 2025. In one sale alone, Hype Event Protection mitigated over 2 million bots, or 98% of all traffic, giving real fans a 50x higher chance of getting their hands on tickets.
“High-demand events have become a prime target for sophisticated bots, putting fairness, customer trust, and brand reputation at risk,” said Patrick Sullivan, Chief Technology Officer of Security Strategy at Akamai. “By integrating Akamai Bot Manager with Queue-it’s virtual waiting room, Hype Event Protection delivers a powerful new defense for organizations that need to protect the integrity of their biggest moments online.”
Queue-it CEO Jesper Essendrop adds, “For years now, we’ve seen just how persistent and pervasive the threat of bad bots is to organizations running high-demand events. With Hype Event Protection, we’re excited to go to market with a multi-layered approach that combines the strength of two best-in-class solutions in Akamai and Queue-it. It brings us a step further in our mission to help organizations build trust by ensuring fair, reliable, and transparent online experiences at every touchpoint.”
In addition to sophisticated bot mitigation, the control provided by Hype Event Protection enables organizations to maintain site performance in the face of massive bot-driven traffic spikes, preventing crashes, slowdowns, and overselling and ensuring revenue capture on mission-critical days.
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