Integral Ad Science, the leading global provider of actionable advertising intelligence for buyers and sellers of digital media, has announced the opening of its Anti-Fraud Lab to conduct comprehensive research and development that will help advance anti-fraud solutions in the advertising industry. The launch of the lab, located in Seattle, extends Integral’s leadership in data science-based fraud detection and prevention solutions.
The new lab, headed by Jason Shaw, Integral’s director of data science and a fraud-fighting veteran, will take a holistic approach to examining the forces driving advertising fraud and developing techniques to protect the industry from it. The lab will uncover what happens behind the scenes of fraudulent transactions as well as analyse underlying mechanisms that incentivise and create paths for committing fraud. These insights will further expand Integral’s existing comprehensive anti-fraud solution providing fraud detection and real-time actionable data to prevent fraudulent ad transactions.
In addition to advancing Integral’s current industry-leading methodology, which uses both big data and session-based signal analysis to tackle display, video, and mobile fraud, Integral will expand its work with experts in various industries and premier academic institutions to collaborate and exchange knowledge in broader fraud research. The overall intent is to improve the advertising environment for publishers, agencies and marketers alike, while contributing critical insights and intelligence to fight against other forms of digital fraud and cybercrime. Integral processes hundreds of billions of impressions monthly, and is uniquely able to analyse the industry on a broad and representative level across multiple media quality metrics. Furthermore, Integral’s patented technology detects and intercepts fraudulent behavior in real time and prevents advertisers from paying for non-human traffic at a scale unachievable by competition.
“Fraud has become an increasingly large issue in the advertising industry, which is why we are dedicated to developing the best technology and tools possible to help combat it,” said Shaw. “The capabilities of this lab will enable us to disrupt ad fraud and other deceptive behavior in all its forms, as well as participate in exciting efforts against cybercrime around the world.”
“Thousands of companies rely on Integral’s technology daily, a role we take very seriously as proven by our commitment to continue to invest heavily in fraud prevention and the establishment of this first-of-its-kind operation. The findings we will share will benefit the whole industry,” said Scott Knoll, CEO of Integral Ad Science. “Seattle is known as a hub for data science and innovation, and we’ve found a number of the best and brightest data scientists, computer security experts, and engineers there to further set apart our advantage in fraud detection.”
Integral has been instrumental in developing fraud detection and prevention products for the past three years and continues to advance anti-fraud solutions rooted in data science and security research. Last year, Integral took the first steps in original research by following and analysing a specific botnet and sharing the findings with the industry. This new Anti-Fraud Lab will expand on Integral’s novel approaches while continuing to develop and apply more conventional methods in an effort to fight fraud and benefit the advertising industry as a whole.
