Yazılar

Report Claims Meta Earned $16 Billion in 2024 from Fraudulent Ads on Facebook and Instagram

/in /tarafından

Meta Reportedly Made Billions from Fraudulent Ads Across Facebook and Instagram in 2024

A new report has alleged that Meta Platforms — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — earned a significant portion of its 2024 revenue from fraudulent and prohibited advertisements. According to internal projections, about 10.1 percent of Meta’s total revenue for the year reportedly came from ads linked to scams and banned goods. The findings suggest that certain internal practices and oversight failures allowed these fraudulent ads to remain active on its platforms, despite clear violations of company policy and advertising regulations.

Citing internal company documents, Reuters reported that Meta failed to effectively detect or block deceptive advertising for a range of illegal or misleading products and services. These included fake e-commerce listings, fraudulent investment schemes, unlicensed online casinos, and even banned medical products. The issue reportedly persisted for at least three years across Meta’s major apps — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — raising concerns about the company’s ad moderation and accountability practices.

The internal projections also claimed that around $16 billion (approximately ₹1.41 lakh crore) of Meta’s total 2024 revenue stemmed from these fraudulent ad sources. The report further alleged that Meta was hesitant to remove or suspend accounts, even those identified internally as “the scammiest scammers.” Executives reportedly feared that taking strict action against these advertisers would lead to a noticeable decline in ad revenue, which could in turn impact the company’s heavy investments in artificial intelligence (AI) development and infrastructure.

These revelations have sparked fresh debate about Meta’s commitment to user safety and transparency in digital advertising. Critics argue that prioritizing profits over consumer protection undermines trust in its platforms, especially as users increasingly encounter scams disguised as legitimate promotions. While Meta has yet to issue a detailed public response to these allegations, the report adds pressure on the company to tighten its ad screening processes and demonstrate stronger ethical oversight in its rapidly expanding AI-driven advertising ecosystem.

Datadog Shares Surge 23% After Revenue Beat and Strong AI Demand

/in /tarafından

Datadog shares soared 23% on Thursday, marking the company’s second-best trading day ever, after the cloud software firm posted third-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and projected robust growth for the final quarter of the year.

The New York-based company reported $885.7 million in Q3 revenue, up 28% year-over-year and well above analyst estimates of $852.8 million, according to LSEG data. For the current quarter, Datadog forecasts between $912 million and $916 million in revenue, surpassing Wall Street’s $887 million projection.

Adjusted earnings reached 55 cents per share, topping FactSet estimates of 45 cents. The company also recorded net income of $33.9 million, or 10 cents per share, compared to $51.7 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier.

CEO Olivier Pomel credited the company’s momentum to continued innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud security tools. “The Datadog R&D team is innovating rapidly to help our customers solve problems in the AI space,” he said in a statement.

Datadog has rolled out a series of AI-focused products this year, including Bits AI Agents for SRE, which can automatically investigate system alerts and generate response drafts, and expanded features for LLM Observability, designed to monitor large language models. The firm also unveiled its MCP Server, which connects AI agents to enterprise data sources, and TOTO, its proprietary foundation model.

The company said the number of customers generating over $100,000 in annual recurring revenue rose 16% in the quarter, signaling sustained enterprise adoption.

Tata Motors Said to Fix E-Dukaan and FleetEdge Vulnerabilities Following AWS Key Exposure

/in /tarafından

Tata Motors reportedly addressed several critical security flaws in two of its digital platforms — E-Dukaan and FleetEdge — following a disclosure from an independent cybersecurity researcher. According to the report, the vulnerabilities were identified in 2023 and were serious enough to potentially expose sensitive company data. The flaws were said to have revealed Amazon Web Services (AWS) access keys, which, if exploited, could have allowed attackers to download confidential information or upload malicious files to Tata Motors’ cloud servers.

Researcher Flags Data Exposure Risks

Cybersecurity researcher Eaton Zveare, who has previously reported vulnerabilities in major tech platforms, detailed his findings in a blog post published earlier this week. He claimed that Tata Motors’ E-Dukaan platform, the company’s e-commerce portal for vehicle parts, contained misconfigured access that exposed AWS credentials. These credentials, he explained, could have granted full access to the company’s cloud storage, including internal files and sensitive operational data.

FleetEdge Platform Also Found Vulnerable

In addition to E-Dukaan, Zveare also discovered flaws in FleetEdge, Tata Motors’ fleet tracking and management solution. The researcher identified four key vulnerabilities that could have allowed unauthorised users to access restricted data and system resources. He noted that the flaws could be exploited remotely, making them particularly dangerous if discovered by malicious actors.

Tata Motors’ Response and Remediation

Tata Motors was reportedly notified about the security lapses in 2023, and the company acted promptly to patch the exposed endpoints and revoke compromised AWS keys. Following internal investigations, both E-Dukaan and FleetEdge were updated with enhanced authentication and access control mechanisms. The automaker has not disclosed whether any data breaches occurred as a result of the vulnerabilities, but cybersecurity experts have praised the company for its swift response and transparency. The incident underscores the growing cybersecurity challenges facing large automotive companies as they continue expanding into connected and cloud-based services.