Fraudlogix Blog

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Industry reacts to Sizmek's bankruptcy and tries to pinpoint what went wrong

Sizmek's bankruptcy filing has shaken digital ad executives, who regarded the company's ad server business as an important contender to Google's. Digiday interviews several industry executives to see where they think the company went wrong. Meanwhile, Sizmek says it's still open, but other ad servers are plotting to scoop up some of its business. On Tuesday the company confirmed between 30 and 80 layoffs. (Digiday, AdExchanger, and AdWeek)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

IAB releases app-ads.txt

The IAB has released the final version of the app-ads.txt, the in-app equivalent of the ads.txt initiative. The specification lets mobile and OTT app publishers indicate which ad tech vendors are authorized to sell or resell their ad inventory. Programmatic ad buyers can check these files to ensure sellers that claim to offer an app’s inventory are authorized to do so. PubMatic will begin enforcing app-ads.txt for its app publishers May 1. (IAB Tech Lab)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

New adware found in 200 apps on Google Play

In the latest mobile ad fraud scheme, security researchers found mobile adware hidden in hundreds of Android apps, which were downloaded more than 150 million times from Google Play. The malware masqueraded as an ad-serving platform, and unbeknownst to the app developers, would open a backdoor to install additional malware. Once installed, the malware runs though lists of web addresses in the background, serving ads to generate revenue. (TechCrunch)

In September 2018 we began reporting ad fraud statistics for the programmatic ad space based on monthly data we collected. In the Q4 2018 Ad Fraud Report we combined data from October, November and December to create a larger picture of ad fraud in terms of which devices, browsers and operating systems are being used most and how much it's affecting different global regions.

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Amazon's Ad Business May Be Growing Faster Than Thought

Amazon's ad business is again outpacing earlier projections. eMarketer recently increased its estimates for Amazon's U.S. ad revenue for both past and future years. The increase is due partly to third-party data indicating that advertising provides more of Amazon's revenue than was previously thought. (The Wall Street Journal)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Scammers Targeting ads.txt for Fraud Scheme

Scammers recently found a new workaround for the ads.txt initiative, which was implemented to help thwart domain spoofing. In the scheme, fraudsters are creating fake websites and then opening accounts with approved resellers listed in legitimate publishers' ads.txt files so impressions would appear to be coming from authorized sellers. (The Wall Street Journal)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Malware in Ad-Based Images Targets Mac Users

A massive adware campaign has so far impacted up to a million Mac users, using a tricky steganography technique to hide malware in image files. (Threat Post)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Google removes 85 adware apps from the Play Store

Installed by millions, 85 adware apps were removed from the Google Play Store after security researchers found they contained a common strain of adware. The apps masqueraded as games and TV remote controllers. (ZDNet)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Evolution of Ad Tech in 2019: Predictions for the Year Ahead

Consolidation, content ownership, and possible maturity in the ad market, 2019 will definitely see changes in the ad tech space - here's four specific predictions for the year ahead. (Marketing Land)

From GDPR to ad fraud arrests, 2018 has been an interesting year of ups and downs for the ad tech industry. Here's some of the biggest ad fraud schemes and ad tech stories - along with a collection of company exits and acquisitions from the past year: