Wired reported for the first time that the phishing attacks affected 1,700 apps and targeted 120 publishers. The scammers running the operation were posting 12 billion ads a day.
Cybersecurity firm Human Security revealed the orchestrated attack. Interestingly, the hackers weren’t trying to hijack an entire phone or app, but instead were trying to hack a single ad slot, where they embedded malicious code after winning the auction for that ad space.
The code means that one ad will multiply up to 25 video ads but only one ad will appear at the top, and the ad will be made to look like any other ad. In reality, however, the scammers were making money from a large number of ads, but only showing a handful of them to users.
iOS devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, were affected the most, according to Marion Habibi, data scientist at Human Security.
Unfortunately, there is not enough way for consumers to know which apps hackers are using, but experts have warned smartphone users to be aware of unexplained jumps in data usage or turning on the phone screen at random times. They also suggested monitoring the performance of applications and whether they suddenly slow down or crash frequently.
Fortunately, the consumers themselves were not targeted, and the hackers appear to have shut down their operations after Human Security worked with organizations that were victims of the scam.