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The battle against "malvertising": a conversation with Michael Lyden, of the Trustworthy Accountability Group
Kevin Lee interviews Michael Lyden, Vice President of Threat Intelligence at the Trust Accountability Group (TAG), in a discussion about the current state of malvertising and what the ad industry is doing to fight it.
As TAG notes on its website, “Malvertising is now a problem at scale. Recent research suggests that despite improvements in the digital ad landscape, nearly 1 in every 100 ad impressions were still impacted by a malicious or disruptive ad, suggesting that more than 20% of user sessions may be impacted by malvertising. The financial impact of malvertising has grown apace as well. In 2018, it was estimated that the industry lost $210 million annually to auto-redirects, and another $920 million from the ads auto-redirects facilitated with click fraud.”
Kevin and Michael discuss the current threat environment and talk about what TAG is doing to make things better. As Michael notes, social engineering is rising as a malvertising modality. “Because modern browsers have gotten so secure, it's harder than ever to download malware from an ad. It really requires you as the internet user to do something: to click through a series of prompts and install the malware or install some other kinds of software at the behest of a criminal group. So social engineering really becomes the key method for criminal groups to get you to do something.”
Michael and Kevin discuss the potential risks of generative AI in digital advertising, including its abuse by criminals to create convincing content and bypass traditional countermeasures. Michael notes that criminals are opportunistic and will exploit weaknesses in the industry, making it essential for digital advertising to stay vigilant and adapt to new threats. He emphasizes the importance of staying nimble, advancing cooperation within the industry, and liaising with law enforcement entities to keep malvertising at bay.
The discussion then turns to the topic of potential vulnerabilities within the affiliate marketing industry to nefarious actors, given its complex ecosystem and lack of information sharing among a large group of independent companies.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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By Kevin LeeKevin Lee interviews Michael Lyden, Vice President of Threat Intelligence at the Trust Accountability Group (TAG), in a discussion about the current state of malvertising and what the ad industry is doing to fight it.
As TAG notes on its website, “Malvertising is now a problem at scale. Recent research suggests that despite improvements in the digital ad landscape, nearly 1 in every 100 ad impressions were still impacted by a malicious or disruptive ad, suggesting that more than 20% of user sessions may be impacted by malvertising. The financial impact of malvertising has grown apace as well. In 2018, it was estimated that the industry lost $210 million annually to auto-redirects, and another $920 million from the ads auto-redirects facilitated with click fraud.”
Kevin and Michael discuss the current threat environment and talk about what TAG is doing to make things better. As Michael notes, social engineering is rising as a malvertising modality. “Because modern browsers have gotten so secure, it's harder than ever to download malware from an ad. It really requires you as the internet user to do something: to click through a series of prompts and install the malware or install some other kinds of software at the behest of a criminal group. So social engineering really becomes the key method for criminal groups to get you to do something.”
Michael and Kevin discuss the potential risks of generative AI in digital advertising, including its abuse by criminals to create convincing content and bypass traditional countermeasures. Michael notes that criminals are opportunistic and will exploit weaknesses in the industry, making it essential for digital advertising to stay vigilant and adapt to new threats. He emphasizes the importance of staying nimble, advancing cooperation within the industry, and liaising with law enforcement entities to keep malvertising at bay.
The discussion then turns to the topic of potential vulnerabilities within the affiliate marketing industry to nefarious actors, given its complex ecosystem and lack of information sharing among a large group of independent companies.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices