February 2025

• Recertification
• Threat Intel Update
• TAG on the Road
• One More Thing

New High of 326 TAG Seals Awarded to Companies for Setting Industry Best Practices; Record 34 Companies Achieve “TAG Platinum” Status

Last week TAG announced a record 326 Certification Seals had been awarded in 2025 to companies setting industry best practices around fraud, malvertising, brand safety, and transparency. Additionally, a record 34 companies reached TAG Platinum status by achieving three or more Certification Seals. 

"TAG’s Certification Seal programs are the foundation of our industry’s success in reducing ad fraud, strengthening brand safety, fighting malware, and improving transparency,” said TAG CEO Mike Zaneis. “This year we increased both the breadth and depth of TAG’s seal programs, with more seals awarded than ever before and a record number of companies achieving TAG Platinum status. Our continued progress in addressing our industry’s most difficult challenges highlights the effectiveness of proven self-regulatory programs, and we look forward to raising the bar even higher over the coming year.”

This year, 207 TAG Certified Companies earned a total of 326 Certification Seals across TAG’s four seal programs: Certified Against Fraud, Certified Against Malvertising, Brand Safety Certified, and Certified for Transparency, up from the 321 Seals awarded in the prior year. TAG’s Certified Against Malvertising program saw particularly significant growth with a 31% increase in seals awarded, from 35 to 46 seals.

“TAG Certified companies represent a cross-section of the most important players in the digital advertising industry -- from the world’s largest agencies, advertisers, and platforms to adtech startups that are driving the next wave of innovation,” said Todd Miller, VP Policy and Compliance at TAG. “The magic of TAG comes from the cross-industry adoption and collaboration of industry best practices across players of all sizes and roles to protect the supply chain from the common threats we face.” 

More information regarding certified companies is available by searching company name or each company’s unique TAG-ID via the TAG Registry. Additional information includes the specific seals awarded to each company, valid terms for each seal, and whether the seals were based on self-attestation or independent validation.

Threat Intelligence Update from TAG’s David Lu

The past year has been a busy one inside TAG’s AdSec Threat Exchange (TX) where digital advertising intermediaries and security vendors share intelligence on the latest threats observed related to malvertising, ad-supported piracy, and enterprise cybersecurity threats. I'd like to thank our members for their on-going support and active participation. You are making a significant difference in helping tackle criminal activity for our industry. 

As the only Intelligence Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) for our industry, TAG's Threat Intelligence Sharing focus has been on expanding our AdSec Threat Exchange, an initiative where digital advertising intermediaries and security vendors share intelligence on the latest threats observed related to malvertising (MTX), piracy (PTX), and enterprise cybersecurity threats (ETX). 

Thanks to your support of our collaborative threat-sharing efforts, we now have active members of the AdSec Threat Exchange sharing threat intelligence from more than 11 countries, spanning seven time zones, and providing 21.5 hours of human coverage in a typical day.

That reach and coverage are important to highlight and maintain, because they help us react to active threats and unexpected events around the world in a timely, coordinated, and impactful manner. Our global coverage also means we can more effectively tackle new and emerging threats across different countries, languages, and cultures. 

For example, earlier this year, a US-based TAG member company in the AdSec Threat Exchange observed significantly increased malvertising activity in the UK, although it wasn't clear what was driving the jump. A UK-based participant proposed a theory that the timing coincided with a nationwide school mid-term holidays - known in the UK as "half-term" – which could account for increased targeting of parents taking time off work, as ad spend has been known to increase around that holiday period. 

While that hypothesis has yet to be fully tested, it may help us anticipate future surges in malicious activity around similar school and work breaks in other countries as well. In short, global participation enables TAG's AdSec Threat Exchange to be greater than the sum of its parts.

As TAG continues to move forward with our threat-sharing intelligence operations, I’ll continue to share updates and key learnings through various TAG communications, including future threat research. 

Talking Transparency at POSSIBLE 

On Monday, April 28th, TAG CEO Mike Zaneis will take part in a panel on “The Transparency Gap: Why We Need More Than Certification To Improve Brand Safety & Working Media” at POSSIBLE in Miami.

Other panelists will include Tyler Romasco, SVP, Global Publisher Development, OpenX; Julie Weitzner, SVP, Brand & Media, ANA; and Melissa Gallo, Executive Director, Head of Client Success, CVS.

Happy Hour? POSSIBLE!

TAG will also host a happy hour the Sunday before day 1 of Possible for the TAG Community! For full details of the Happy Hour, email us info@tagtoday.net.

Keep Up-To-Date With The Working Group Brief

TAG's working groups are a crucial source point of conversation and collaboration for digital advertising. Make sure you stay up to date with the latest progress and developments with the Workin Group Brief. 

Read the latest Working Group Brief 👉 tagtoday.net/working-groups

Leverage TAG Research into Your Everyday!

From APAC Fraud Snapshot reports, to UK Brand Safety Consumer reports, to Best Practices whitepapers, TAG's research is here to support our member's day-to-day compliance as well as strategic planning. 

Visit our Data and Insight page 👉 tagtoday.net/insights

Let's Make Some Noise Together 🤝

We love it when TAG members highlight our work together to fight digital ad crime and improve transparency. Please send any TAG-related press releases, blogs, or other announcements to Andrew Weinstein at andrewwstn@gmail.com for review before release.