Security News > 2023 > January > Massive ad-fraud op dismantled after hitting millions of iOS devices
A massive ad fraud operation dubbed 'Vastflux' that spoofed more than 1,700 applications from 120 publishers, mostly for iOS, has been disrupted by security researchers at cybersecurity company HUMAN. The operation's name was derived from the VAST ad-serving template and the "Fast flux" evasion technique used to conceal malicious code by rapidly changing a large number of IP addresses and DNS records associated with a single domain.
The research team at HUMAN discovered Vastflux while investigating a separate ad fraud scheme.
Vastflux generated bids for displaying in-app ad banners.
While ad fraud does not have a malicious impact for the app users, it causes performance drops for the device, increases the use of battery and internet data, and can even lead to device overheating.
The above are common signs of adware infections or ad fraud in the device, and users should treat them with suspicion and try to pinpoint the app(s) that account for most of the resource consumption.
Google Ad fraud campaign used adult content to make millions.