Targeted advertising is also targeting malware

Malvertising has surpassed email and direct hacks as the leading malware delivery vector globally, according to The Media Trust's 2026 Intelligence Report. Millions of infected ad creatives or scripts can spread across publishers in seconds, with AI accelerating the threat by enabling adaptive malware that changes behavior based on location, browser, or device. Known campaigns like Ghost Cat, ClickFix, and SocGholish are cited, with emerging techniques including AI-assisted evasion and compromised adtech APIs used as payload delivery infrastructure. Financial gain drives over half of these attacks, with data theft accounting for roughly 30%.