New Android malware uses AI to click on hidden browser ads

Submitted ⁨⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨BrikoX@lemmy.zip⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.zip⁩

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-android-malware-uses-ai-to-click-on-hidden-browser-ads/

A new family of Android click-fraud trojans leverages TensorFlow machine learning models to automatically detect and interact with specific advertisement elements.

source

Comments

Sort:hotnew top

Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

They discovered that the malware can operate in a mode called ‘phantom’, which uses a hidden WebView-based embedded browser to load a target page for click-fraud and a JavaScript file. The script’s purpose is to automate actions on the ads shown on the loaded site.

Ooohh nooooo. Will no one think of the poor advertisers and their wasted ad money??

I know viruses are bad and this exploit could probably be used for more nefarious purposes, but I’m having a hard time getting upset about it.

source
- PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  To play devil’s advocate here, it likely wastes a significant number of resources on the victim’s phone, and it also puts site owners at risk of losing ad money that they would have generated through clicks.
  
  source
sorghum@sh.itjust.works ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Sounds like adnauseam.io but for real

source
- artyom@piefed.social ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Hmm. Imagine what it would do to the advertising industry if this was distributed maliciously…
  
  source