---
title: "AdExchanger: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At How Researchers Investigate Government-Backed Malvertising"
description: The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is a not-for-profit industry self-regulatory programme, established to tackle criminal activity in digital advertising.
image: https://www.tagtoday.net/hubfs/Current%20Files/TAG%20Logo_Primary.jpg
---

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# [News](https://www.tagtoday.net/news)

 August 23, 2023

# AdExchanger: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At How Researchers Investigate Government-Backed Malvertising

 

Nation states exploit programmatic ad tech to attack rival countries. The prevalence of malvertising – the practice of serving ads infected with malware – is both a fact and a growing problem.

The challenge is proving it.

Researchers are often forced to rely on circumstantial evidence to demonstrate that a nation state is behind a malvertising campaign, which can be used to destabilize an enemy’s infrastructure, sow discord during an election or a time of war and serve as a conduit for corporate sabotage.

And malvertising is on the rise.

According to the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), economic uncertainty and the recent slowdown in ad spend has [opened the door for malvertisers](https://www.tagtoday.net/hubfs/Exploiting%20Trust%20Social%20Engineering.pdf) to purchase more inventory at lower prices. At the same time, hackers are becoming more familiar with programmatic infrastructure, and generative AI will only accelerate the threat of ad-served malware attacks.

...

“Stopping malvertising is really hard from a law enforcement standpoint,” Lyden said. “Doing so requires the industry to come together and self-regulate.”

[Read more...](https://www.adexchanger.com/ad-exchange-news/friday-18082023/) 

 Topics: [News](https://www.tagtoday.net/news/topic/news)

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