September 2025

• Cybersecurity Awareness Month
  
• State of the Fight - IT'S BACK!
• Team Spotlight
• Where in the World is TAG
• One More Thing

TAG Helps Educate Ad Industry During Cybersecurity Awareness Month

For the fourth consecutive year, TAG is proud to serve as a Champion for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Together with the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), TAG is helping its members and their businesses stay smart, stay safe, and stay one step ahead of cybercrime.

This year’s theme is #StaySafeOnline, so for the month of October, TAG will be sharing tips and tricks on how to do just that. Make sure you follow TAG on LinkedIn and X to learn all the ways you can protect yourself and your organization.

The National Cybersecurity Alliance (in partnership with CybSafe) have released their 2024-2025 report, Oh Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity Attitude and Behaviors. The report surveyed thousands of people across India, Germany, U.K., U.S., New Zealand, and Australia to see how they behave online, and it uncovered some surprising findings:

• 44% of respondents said they find staying safe online intimidating, a strong indication of user anxiety around cybersecurity,
• 61% of participants expressed worry about becoming cybercrime victims, and
• 30% of participants said there is no point in protecting themselves as their information is already online, a number up +8% from 2023, indicating a growing sense of helplessness.

Online users must be more careful than ever when browsing the web. Based on the information collected, the NCA and Cybsafe have identified 5 critical cybersecurity behaviors for users to focus on, four of which are the focus of this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month:

1. Ensuring good password hygiene
2. Using multi-factor authentication (MFA)
3. Installing the latest software updates
4. Backing up data
5. Spotting and reporting phishing

Keeping yourself safe online can be tough. With the help of organizations like the NCA, TAG has put together an easy-to-follow guide on how you and the digital advertising industry can #BeSafeOnline. Check out those tips and updates all month to find out how!

Six Reasons You Can’t Miss This Year’s State of the Fight!

Do you feel a sense of nervous anticipation? Have a nagging suspicion that great events are unfolding around you? Worried about having the FOMO to end all FOMO?

You’re not crazy. Next Wednesday, October 8, TAG hosts the annual industry event that will pull back the curtain on all the drama, victories, and debacles of the past year, while setting the stage for bigger and better things in 2026: State of the Fight!

Here are six reasons you can’t miss this year’s event:

1. “From Spoof to Proof: Solving for Device Attestation in CTV and Beyond” - Join TAG’s Todd Miller and Vinod Panicker of Amazon as they break down the spoofing chaos and explore whether the unlikely duo of Open Measurement SDK and Privacy Pass Protocol can finally call the bluff on fake devices. 
2. “SOS: Save Our Streams” - TAG’s Jules Kendrick brings together Nick Frizzell of Magnite, Catie Shawley of the Entertainment Software Association, and Stanzi Rowe of the Motion Picture Association to provide an update on the industry’s collaborative efforts to fight ad-funded piracy, including the vital role of anti-piracy initiatives like TAG’s Piracy Threat Exchange (PTX) in turning the tide.
3. “No Transparency: No SPO” - An all-star panel led by TAG’s Adrian Lacey with Chris Kane of Jounce Media and Chris Morgan Mobian dives into the challenges and opportunities from moving to log-level transparency and the ways it can unlock true CPM, minimize risk, and drive smarter spend.
4. Fireside Chat with Index Exchange CEO Andrew Casale - Don’t miss this panoramic dialogue led by TAG’s Mike Zaneis on today’s shifting industry landscape, the threats of today and tomorrow, the continuing struggle to ensure brand safety and transparency, and the eternal cat-and-mouse battles against the criminals who profit from fraud and malvertising.
5. “This isn't Hypothetical: David was the Target” - Sometimes your job gets personal, as TAG VP of Threat Intel David Lu found when he was hit with a live malvertising attack in early 2025. Join a speaker from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and Bhargave Cherukupally of Amazon as they break down what happened with Malvertising Threat Exchange (MTX) partners, learn how they’re chasing the bad actors behind it, and discover how real-world attacks fuel smarter tracking, faster sharing, and stronger defences. [IN PERSON ONLY]
6. “The Blocklist Horror Show” - TAG’s Rachel Nyswander Thomas opens the Pandora’s Box of keyword blacklists with AJ Brown of the Brand Safety Institute, Dave Byrne of IPG Mediabrands, and Shannon Hartmann of Kroger Precision Marketing to discuss the ways that blocklist overreach is defunding trusted publishers and creating blind spots for advertisers, as well as the smarter, more effective solutions that are emerging from the confusion. [IN PERSON ONLY]

Happy Compliance Officer Day!!

To celebrate and show our gratitude to the 400+ TAG compliance officers in our community on National Compliance Officer Day - September 26 -  Team TAG has a message just for you:

TAG Team Member Spotlight: Lisa Gansky

What is your role at TAG?

I’m the Director of Product Management at TAG. If you have questions or suggestions about our suite of tools, including DCIP, PMAL, or PDEL, I’m the person to reach out to. Since joining, I’ve been focused on updating our tool documentation and rolling out improvements to make them even more effective for our members!

What stands out to you about the work you do at TAG?

I’m incredibly passionate about fighting malvertising and ad fraud, and it’s inspiring to collaborate with members who share that same commitment. It’s incredibly motivating to know that our work has purpose and helps make the internet a safer, more trustworthy place.

What fun fact about you would surprise your TAG friends and colleagues?

I left NYC back in 2021, and now I'm a farmer! I have a food forest at my home in South Florida that’s full of tropical fruit trees and plants. I grow several kinds of bananas, nine varieties of mango trees, four varieties of avocado trees, papaya, pomegranate, tomatoes, okra, and different varieties of heat-tolerant spinach and cherries. I’ve also planted some unique trees like custard apple, sapodilla, jackfruit, Malay apple, star fruit, and white sapote. Most weekends you’ll find me out in the garden early in the morning to beat the Florida heat.

Team TAG are always looking to connect with the TAG Community wherever they are! 

In the coming months, you can find us at:

		State of the Fight (8th October) New York City, NY  US
		Advertising Week NYC (6th-9th October) New York City, NY US
		ANA Masters of Marketing Orlando, FL US

If you're going to be there and want to connect with us over a beverage, then reach out to us below!

Keep Up-To-Date With The Working Group Brief

TAG's working groups are a crucial source point of conversation and collaboration for digital advertising. Make sure you stay up to date with the latest progress and developments with the Workin Group Brief. 

Read the latest Working Group Brief 👉 tagtoday.net/working-groups

Leverage TAG Research into Your Everyday!

From APAC Fraud Snapshot reports, to UK Brand Safety Consumer reports, to Best Practices whitepapers, TAG's research is here to support our member's day-to-day compliance as well as strategic planning. 

Visit our Data and Insight page 👉 tagtoday.net/insights

Let's Make Some Noise Together 🤝

We love it when TAG members highlight our work together to fight digital ad crime and improve transparency. Please send any TAG-related press releases, blogs, or other announcements to Andrew Weinstein at andrewwstn@gmail.com for review before release.