Rob Beeler
I saw an article on ExchangeWire about the Yahoo DSP partnering with GeoEdge. I asked Amnon Siev, CEO of Geoedge, a few questions about the announcement:
Rob Beeler: How is working with a DSP different from working with a publisher?
Amnon Siev: It's night and Day. DSPs operate on a different technical level compared to publishers, enabling them to seamlessly integrate our solutions into their infrastructure and incorporate us into their ad-serving processes. The core need for publishers is comprehensive protection; they want to establish ad quality policies and then rely on a solution that autonomously and proactively filters non-compliant ads. DSPs don’t want handholding. They’re tech-savvy enough to bake us right into their systems, so we’re not just a “vendor.” On the one hand, they work directly with the advertisers and can shut down a rough campaign, given the appropriate indication. On the other hand, they have to cater to the needs and requirements of many supply partners. Therefore, they need the flexibility to apply different workflows for the same ad based on the preferences of the different supply partners. Collaborating with a DSP necessitates comprehension of their terminology, workflows, and ad quality standards. This dynamic fosters a partnership rather than a traditional provider/customer relationship.
Rob Beeler: Yahoo focuses on CTV. How are ad quality and security different in this space?
Amnon Siev: Ad Quality/Security across CTV, is a whole new beast. The sensitivity to inappropriate content is amplified by the fact that CTV is consumed on big and shared screens. Detecting content issues in media formats such as video and audio, which are often not paired with a landing page, requires AI and ML engines to analyze the ad's content—visual frames, spoken language, on-screen text, audio sentiment, QR codes, and more—all of which are scanned and digested into a clear verdict about the ad's classification and any content violations it might have. Furthermore, all the ad's technical aspects are checked to ensure the ad will render properly on all screens, preventing any user experience issues.
Rob Beeler: What are some of the new tactics “the bad guys” are using to exploit digital advertising?
Amnon Siev:
- Auto-redirects in Video Ads: A concerning trend involves auto-redirects embedded within video ad platforms and players. This year saw the first global-scale video-based malware attack leveraging malicious VAST Tags. Many AdTech platforms assume video ads are inherently safe, which lowers defenses and allows bad actors to cleverly embed redirects within these ads, leading users to scams without requiring any ad interaction.
- Deepfake Video Ads: The rise of generative AI has enabled bad actors to deploy deepfake videos in both online and CTV ads. Initially, these misused deepfake celebrity endorsements to promote products (e.g., the Taylor Swift-Le Creuset giveaway scam). However, this has escalated to financial scams (e.g., deepfakes of Elon Musk promoting fake AI investments) and even manipulated content designed to influence voter sentiment in U.S. elections.
- QR Post-Scan Scams: As scannable QR codes become popular in making CTV ads interactive and shoppable, scammers are exploiting post-scan cloaking tactics. After users scan the QR code, they are deceptively redirected to malicious sites, creating a new challenge in securing QR-driven engagement from trusted devices to unintended, risky sites.
Interesting Note Where user safety and user protection meet: Malware and ad quality are often tackled separately within organizations, typically kept in silos. But at the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing: ad safety—and it converges in the user experience. This is especially true for CTV, where viewer experience is paramount. The line between issues gets blurry, as political content, hate speech, and deepfakes can be just as disruptive as financial scam ads or full-screen takeovers by hackers.
Image created using DALL-E, an OpenAI tool within ChatGPT.