In early 2019, the IAS Threat Lab unmasked a large-scale ad fraud scheme that has been on the prowl since 2018. This bot scheme’s main game is domain-spoofing, a behaviour often involving non-existent URLs, earning the bot its nickname: 404bot. Here we provide details on the characteristics and crimes of the 404bot, including its immense monetary impact on the industry.
Here we have a comprehensive run-down of the 404bot’s treacherous activity, including a detailed explanation of Ads.txt, domain spoofing, the repercussions of the cyberattack, and the path forward as a unified industry.
For those who want a brief, view-from-the-top rundown on the behaviour and monetary impact of the 404bot...without all of the exciting graphs.
Let’s talk ad fraud. What is it? Who does it? How do they get paid? And, most importantly, how do we stop them? We’ll answer these questions and more in this map of the fraud landscape with the IAS Essentials eBook.
As ad fraud becomes more advanced, the digital industry needs sophisticated detection methods and proactive measures to effectively avoid getting targeted. IAS has a dedicated Threat Lab comprised of specialized analysts, engineers, white-hat-hackers, and data scientists who identify and stop fraudulent activity. For even more support, our team works with experts from law enforcement and academic institutions to continuously examine the forces behind digital advertising fraud.
Get the complete rundown on the 404bot scheme with our toolkit.
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