Publishers running programmatic advertising generally expect their ad inventory to deliver content: a banner, a video, or a native placement. What they do not expect is for that inventory to silently turn every visitor’s device into a cryptocurrency mining node. Cryptojacking via ad scripts does exactly that, leaving no obvious trace in standard campaign reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attack is not new, but its mechanics have evolved. After Coinhive, the mining service most associated with early browser-based cryptomining, shut down in March 2019<\/a>, the assumption in some quarters was that the threat had peaked. It had not<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The infrastructure moved to less visible pools, delivery methods diversified, and cryptojacking remained profitable thanks to its low operating costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, we will break down how cryptojacking enters ad inventory, what it does on devices, why it is harder to detect than other forms of malvertising, and how responsible platforms address the problem.<\/p>\n\n\nContents<\/h4>