Malvertising and
Ad Quality Index 2023 (January 1st - December 31st)

Download Full Report

maq-2023-recap-cover

Introduction

Confiant's Malvertising and Ad Quality (MAQ) Index is a view into creative quality and security in digital advertising.

Using a sample of hundreds of billions of impressions monitored in real time, Confiant is able to answer fundamental questions about the state of creative quality.

Digital advertising delivers significant value to publishers but also introduces myriad risks related to security, privacy, and user experience. Malicious, disruptive, and annoying ads degrade user experience and drive adoption of ad blockers.

In 2018, Confiant released the industry’s first benchmark report. This report, the 19th in the series, covers the entirety of 2023.

Highlights

  • One in every 79 impressions revealed significant security or quality issues, marking the highest rate observed since the previous peak in 2018.
  • The quality violation rate in Q4 2023 also hit its highest level since 2018.
  • In the second half of 2023, the industry-wide ad quality violation rate more than doubled from 0.63% to 1.57%.
  • On average, one in every 384 impressions delivered in 2023 was a security risk to the user.
  • For two years in a row, SSP-E had the lowest security violation rate, and daily maximum security rate.
  • The number of incidents and average response times usually have matching trends, but response time trends varied in 2023.
  • Forced Redirect attacks surged in September of 2023.

Industry View

The quality violation rate in Q4 2023 was the highest level since 2018

How did the industry fare in 2023?

How did the industry fare in 2023?
The industry-wide security violation rate rose for the third straight year, averaging 0.26% for 2023. Only Q4's security violation rate was lower than the previous year’s overall security violation rate. The beginning of 2023 saw intense attacks from cloaked ads.

In only half a year, the industry-wide ad quality violation rate more than doubled from 0.63% to 1.57%. This uplift was fueled by Heavy Ads.

2023 Most Blocked Ad Categories

2023 Most Blocked Ad Categories

1 in every 79 impressions was dangerous or highly disruptive to the end user

SSP Rankings

For two years in a row, SSP-E had the lowest security violation rate, and daily maximum security rate.

2023 Security Violation Rates by SSP

2023 Security Violation Rates by SSP
In 2023, Google and SSP-S struggled with high security violation rates, with Google’s rate being almost 4x worse than SSP-S.

The SSPs with the lowest rate of security violations for the year were SSP-E, SSP-G, and OpenX, each achieving a rate of less than 0.01%, with Sharethrough right behind them. SSP-E remains the frontrunner.

2023 Quality Violation Details by SSP

2023 Quality Violation Details by SSP

Major Threat Activity 2023

  • QuizTSS

    QuizTSS ad examples

    The Tech Support Scam (TSS) scene continues to evolve. The top threat actor in 2023 was QuizTSS with total volumes that we estimate accounted for 20% of all malicious impressions.
    QuizTSS uses seemingly innocuous "Start" and "Continue" buttons on cloaked AI generated or quiz landing pages as a conduit for malicious activities. These buttons, designed to blend seamlessly with legitimate quiz content, mislead users into clicking them under the guise of continuing their engagement.

  • ScamClub

    ScamClub ad examples

    ScamClub's primary method involves using Forceful redirects, subtly guiding users to harmful websites, often hosting Scareware or fraudulent Gift-Card Scams, Carrier Branded Scams, Giveaway Scams.
    In September 2023, Confiant threat intel and take-down report on ScamClub provided the threat intelligence that allowed an organized action to dismantle ScamClub supply chain links. Previously, ScamClub was abusing a browser vulnerability that Confiant had reported (CVE-2021-1801).

  • ... and many more. See the entire list:

    Download Full Report

Download Full Report

Confiant's Malvertising and Ad Quality (MAQ) Index provides an inside look into the frequency and severity of ad quality issues in digital advertising. Discover what were the top concerns for premium publishers, how SSPs performed in 2023, and what tactics were employed by malvertisers.

Learn about major threat groups active & their tactics

The full report details active threat actors, their techniques, & their impact on the digital ecosystem over the last quarter.

Learn how SSPs are performing

Confiant tracked impressions from over 100 SSPs. However, the vast majority of global impressions originated from just 14 providers commonly used by publishers. Explore which SSPs are performing the best and worst when it comes to ad quality.