Deniability by Design: DNS-Driven Insights into a Malicious Ad Network blogs.infoblox.com/threat-in…

One typically imagines the digital underworld—trojans, malware droppers, fake dating sites, investment scams, and more—as operating in the dark corners of the internet. But increasingly, these threats are hiding in plain sight, camouflaged by the glossy veneer of mainstream digital advertising. In some cases, the adtech platforms are abused, but we have uncovered an increasing number of adtech companies that are either complicit or actively engaged in the distribution of malicious content. Cybercriminals aren’t just exploiting adtech platforms, sometimes, they are the adtech platforms.

There’s a recipe for running malicious campaigns through adtech, and it starts with plausible deniability. Add in convoluted corporate structures, stir in opaque ownership, and you’ve got the perfect conditions for a profitable lack of accountability. These ingredients don’t just make abuse possible; they make it sustainable. The more tangled the web of shell companies, the less visibility there is into the operation, and the harder it becomes to assign blame or trace responsibility, which, of course, is by design.