Researchers from HUMAN have taken down a sizeable ad fraud scheme that spoofed more than 1,700 apps and managed to generate 12 billion ad requests a day.
By injecting JavaScript into the ads, the scammers were able to layer multiple ads, registering views for ads that users did not see. HUMAN dubbed the malicious campaign Vastflux.
Note
- Ad botnets/malvertising attacks are a constant and this is reminder that if your company pays for ads or takes revenue from ad placement, advertising networks have to be considered as part of your supply chain security and user awareness programs. In particular, increased use of MFA will bring increased “MFA fatigue” attacks, which share a lot of evil DNA with ad stacking attacks. Use this one as impetus for an awareness push to users and management.
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Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified IT Technical Support Architect with over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex IT systems and networks. He has worked for leading IT companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, providing technical support and solutions to clients across various industries and sectors. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and a master’s degree in information security from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the author of several best-selling books on IT technical support, such as The IT Technical Support Handbook and Troubleshooting IT Systems and Networks. Alex lives in Bandar, Johore, Malaysia with his wife and two chilrdren. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
