The Pentagon Is Using Ad Blockers to Counter Malvertising

The Pentagon has implemented several methods to block digital ads in response to Sen. Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) inquiry earlier this summer about the threat posed by foreign spies and criminals who misuse online advertising via malicious ads. “The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has deployed various technologies to protect against online-advertising related malware and data collection threats,” wrote Kelly Fletcher, the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Defense, in a letter to Congress. “Web content filter and Sharkseer tools block bad traffic that traverses our internet access points and Cloud-Based Internet Isolation (CBII) also isolates all traffic, including ads,” reads the letter. Malvertising or the practice of embedding malware in online advertisements through files, images, messages or videos hidden within the content of the ad format can lead to potential malicious redirects. Though this trend saw a decline in 2020, the digital ad industry has faced the financial brunt of malvertising costing them more than $1 billion per year. Most of the losses are attributed to lost ad revenue where consumers use ad-blocking tools. New Media Transparency Tools Are Coming to the Buy Side “Malvertising is attacking the ads themselves, which creates a whole new threat vector that organizations need to be on the lookout for,” Forrester principal analyst Joanna O’Connell told Adweek. “This action by the DoD sends the message that there is no place for malvertising in the marketing and advertising ecosystem,” Sheila Colclasure, Global Chief Digital Responsibility at IPG & Kinesso told Adweek. “This is good for advertisers, the service providers that support them, and most importantly for people.” The DoD has updated interactive training for mobile services and deployed a “Mobile Threat Detection” capability on all devices that will monitor the device, network and applications for malware and other threats. As for the protection against online ads related to malware and data collection threats, the department has issued guidelines for “best cybersecurity practices” from National Security Agency and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to protect all employees against the same. This is not the first time a government agency has employed preventive measures against malvertising. Agencies like the NSA and CIA have encouraged the use of ad blockers as a security measure. The challenge in the digital advertising industry, according to O’Connell, is driven by automation and technology where an ad buyer and ad seller conduct business through programmatic ad exchanges. The “disintermediation between ad buyer and ad seller creates room for problems,” said O’Connell, who adds that a snowball effect leads to a terrible consumer experience, loss of trust, and loss of revenue. “An industry-wide conversation about malvertising is critical to address this problem holistically,” she said. Advertisers and agencies have previously combatted different types of ad fraud. But with malvertising, IPG's Colclasure believes there is a need for a fair and balanced federal law, with co-regulation by industry trade groups.

Ad Tech Industry News

The Pentagon Is Using Ad Blockers to Counter Malvertising

The Department of Defense has deployed ad-blocking methods according to a letter sent to Congress

Trishla Ostwal

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Trishla Ostwal