The Hidden Hazards of Online Ads

Google, Facebook, Twitter and other Internet ad companies no doubt saw Congress coming when they reinvigorated industry efforts to combat malvertising and protect consumers.

A new report by the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s permanent subcommittee on investigations concluded that the online advertising industry contains “significant vulnerabilities” that cyber criminals exploit to initiate malware attacks against consumers.

The report was initiated by ranking member Sen John McCain (R-AZ). The report, “Online advertising and hidden hazards to consumer security and data privacy,” was released just ahead of the subcommittee’s hearing, where you could find representatives from Yahoo, Google, the Online Trust Alliance, the Federal Trade Commission, as well as Lou Mastria of the Digital Advertising Alliance.

In some instances, clicking the play button would initiate a pre-roll ad on YouTube or Yahoo that could deliver malware to consumers’ computers, the report found. Sites that consumers would expect to be safe, including The New York Times, Major League Baseball, and the San Francisco Chronicle were found to host ads with malware, many delivered by third-party ad networks.