Referred to as SilentFade (Silently running Facebook ADs with Exploits), the malware was identified in late 2018 and the vulnerability it was exploiting to stay undetected was patched soon after. Facebook took legal action against the malware operators in December 2019.
The malware exploited a server-side flaw to persistently suppress notifications and ensure that the infected users would not be made aware of suspicious activity related to their accounts. This allowed SilentFade to abuse the compromised accounts and run malicious ads without the victims noticing anything.
