Google Apps Script Misuse Comes Under Cybersecurity Spotlight: TraceX Labs Details Emerging Threats

A new TraceX Labs threat intelligence report has highlighted the growing misuse of Google Apps Script Web Apps in phishing, fraud, malware delivery, SEO spam and malicious redirect campaigns.

Legitimate cloud platforms are increasingly becoming part of the cybersecurity conversation as threat actors look for ways to make malicious campaigns appear more trustworthy. A new report from TraceX Labs has drawn attention to the potential misuse of Google Apps Script Web Apps for a range of online abuse activities.

Published on September 30, 2026, the report, identified as GLOBAL-026, examines how Apps Script Web Apps can potentially be incorporated into different stages of malicious campaigns. These include phishing, online fraud, malware distribution, search-engine manipulation, spam and suspicious redirection activity.

The researchers also discuss suspected CSAM/CSE-related infrastructure, while emphasizing that such findings require additional corroboration.

Why Attackers May Use Legitimate Cloud Services

Google Apps Script is designed for legitimate purposes such as automating workflows, creating web applications and connecting different Google services.

Its Web Apps functionality allows developers to create pages that can receive requests, process parameters and interact with external resources.

According to TraceX Labs, these same capabilities can potentially be incorporated into abuse infrastructure.

A malicious campaign could, for example, send a victim to an Apps Script URL through a search result, social-media post, email or messaging platform. The Apps Script page may then act as an intermediary before the visitor reaches another destination.

The researchers emphasize that this does not make Google Apps Script itself malicious.

Phishing Campaigns Can Use Multiple Layers

Phishing remains one of the major areas examined in the report.

TraceX Labs discusses scenarios involving credential harvesting, financial scams, investment fraud, employment scams, fake payment operations and social engineering.

Rather than assuming that the first URL encountered by a victim represents the entire campaign, investigators are encouraged to examine the complete chain.

The final destination, associated domains and other infrastructure may provide additional evidence about the campaign.

The report also mentions malicious Android APK distribution and potential malware delivery. TraceX Labs recommends that claims involving malware should be supported by technical examination or reliable reputation data.

SEO Manipulation Is Another Concern

The report also focuses on the use of cloud infrastructure in SEO manipulation and search spam.

Security researchers may encounter suspicious pages containing large numbers of keywords, automatically generated text, repeated templates or excessive external links.

Doorway pages and redirect chains are also identified as patterns that can deserve further investigation.

Some activity involving deliberate manipulation of search results may potentially relate to MITRE ATT&CK T1608.006, SEO Poisoning.

However, TraceX Labs stresses the importance of investigating the surrounding infrastructure rather than declaring a page malicious simply because it contains unusual SEO patterns.

Spam Campaigns Cover Multiple Categories

The report examines a broad range of spam-related activity.

Among the categories discussed are:

• Gambling and betting spam
• Adult and NSFW spam
• Drug-related spam
• Deepfake and synthetic-media spam
• Search and video spam
• Movie-piracy-related activity

TraceX Labs warns that keywords alone should not be considered sufficient evidence.

For example, finding gambling-related or drug-related terms on a page does not automatically establish that the infrastructure is being used for criminal activity. Additional context and corroborating evidence are required.

Researchers Raise Caution Over Suspected Illegal Content

TraceX Labs separately discusses infrastructure it considers potentially related to CSAM/CSE activity.

The report uses the classification “Suspected / Corroboration Required.” This distinction is important because the researchers are not presenting the classification as conclusive proof.

The report recommends careful evidence handling in such investigations. Researchers are also advised not to unnecessarily download, reproduce or distribute suspected illegal material.

A Trusted Domain Does Not Guarantee Trusted Content

A major takeaway from the report is that security teams should avoid judging a resource solely by its hosting provider.

A URL associated with Google infrastructure does not necessarily mean that Google created the content, operates a linked external website or endorses the activity taking place there.

The same principle applies to HTTPS. Although HTTPS encrypts communication between a browser and server, it does not independently prove that the website or content is legitimate.

For investigators, the surrounding behaviour and infrastructure can therefore be more informative than the cloud provider’s name.

What Security Teams Should Look For

TraceX Labs recommends examining suspicious Apps Script activity alongside other available technical evidence.

Security teams can investigate:

• Unusual URL parameters
• Repeated deployment identifiers
• Redirect destinations
• Suspicious domains
• IP addresses
• ASNs
• Digital certificates
• File hashes
• Download activity
• Related infrastructure

Web proxy logs can help security teams reconstruct redirect chains and identify the final destination reached by a user.

Endpoint telemetry can also reveal suspicious activity, including unexpected APK downloads, unusual file execution and browser-originated downloads.

Behaviour Matters More Than the Hosting Platform

The report’s recommendations point toward a behaviour-based approach to threat detection.

Instead of treating every Apps Script URL as suspicious, investigators can assess what the URL is doing, where it redirects users, what content it delivers and how it connects with other infrastructure.

This can help distinguish legitimate applications from suspicious campaigns without unnecessarily blocking an entire cloud service.

TraceX Labs Uses Multiple Threat Classifications

The report uses classifications such as Observed, Correlated, Suspected, Potential, Benign and Unknown.

TraceX Labs also cautions against drawing broad conclusions from a single URL or screenshot. Such evidence, by itself, does not necessarily establish ownership, criminal intent, attribution or an association with Google.

The report recommends following a structured process:

Discover → Validate → Correlate → Classify → Report

The methodology is intended to help SOC teams, cybersecurity researchers, CERTs and law-enforcement organizations evaluate suspicious infrastructure more systematically.

The Bigger Cybersecurity Picture

The TraceX Labs findings reflect a wider challenge in modern cybersecurity: legitimate internet infrastructure can sometimes become part of malicious campaigns.

For defenders, this creates a need for detailed investigation rather than simple domain-based blocking.

Examining redirects, destinations, content, technical indicators and relationships between infrastructure can provide a clearer picture of whether a particular resource is genuinely suspicious.

The full TraceX Labs report contains additional technical information, threat-hunting guidance and investigation recommendations related to Google Apps Script Web Apps.

Read Full Report: https://tracexlabs.com/reports/google-apps-script-abuse-threat-report-2026.html