Ad Network Security Issues; IPG's Arun Kumar On Addressable TV

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Ads, Exploited

A malvertising attack on Yahoo has resurfaced the debate on ad network security. Though Yahoo says initial reports were “grossly misrepresented,” the attack proves how simple it is for fraudsters to game the system. In this case, a security flaw in Flash let malicious software run on a visitor’s computer, providing fake page views that were sold on an open exchange. Ad Age interviewed Jerome Segura, the Malwarebytes security researcher who uncovered the breach, who says that the speed and real-time nature of malware attacks mean the industry needs to move past “patching” and into preemptive anti-virus software. Read more.

Bright Horizons

Speaking to Beet.TV, Arun Kumar, global president of IPG’s trading desk Cadreon, spelled out IPG’s position and seemed to take a jab at a certain WPP-owned trading desk. As a group, “We do not buy inventory, and we do not resell it,” Kumar said. “We are not media companies that are sitting within an agency holding group.” Shifting the conversation to advanced TV, Kumar said that once unlocked, addressable TV will be hard to beat. “If I were a pure digital player, I would look at this as a threat,” he said. “If TV stations are able to bring in the level of targeting that traditionally Google and Facebook offer, can you imagine the possibilities for them and how much spend they can unlock?” More.

Fa$tly

Fastly unveiled a $75 million round of funding led by Iconiq Capital, bringing its total funding to $130 million. Fastly bills itself as a real-time content delivery network (CDN) and works with clients like Business Insider, Conde Nast, iHeartMedia, Twitter and Vimeo. According to CEO Artur Bergman, “The lack of innovation by traditional CDNs has frustrated many of our customers by holding back their ability to create faster, secure and highly personalized user experiences.” Read the release.

Whatsup?

Facebook added chat features for businesses on Wednesday that let them communicate directly with users through ads. The messaging capabilities are tailored to local awareness campaigns, and a business on the receiving end of a message can see which ads sparked a conversation. “Messaging has become a preferred communication channel for people, and now people and businesses on Facebook can start real-time conversations with each other in more ways,” Facebook wrote in a blog post. Read more.

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