Brand Protection Tools
In cybersecurity, brand monitoring tools are specialized software applications and services organizations use to actively track, analyze, and protect their brand's presence, reputation, and intellectual property across various digital channels. Unlike general marketing-focused brand monitoring, cybersecurity focuses on identifying and mitigating threats that could compromise an organization's security posture, lead to financial loss, or damage customer trust.
Here's a detailed breakdown:
What They Do:
Brand monitoring tools in cybersecurity continuously scan the internet and various digital landscapes to detect unauthorized or malicious use of a company's brand assets. These assets can include:
Brand names and trademarks: Company names, product names, slogans.
Logos and visual identity: Official logos, iconography, brand imagery.
Domain names: Official websites, subdomains.
Mobile applications: Official apps in app stores.
Executive and employee names: For impersonation attempts.
Marketing campaigns and promotions: To detect fraudulent offers.
Sensitive data: Like leaked credentials or customer information.
Key Areas of Monitoring:
These tools cast a wide net across the "public attack surface," including:
Surface Web: Publicly accessible websites, news articles, blogs, forums, review sites.
Social Media: Platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, etc., to detect fake profiles, imposter accounts, and unauthorized use of brand assets.
Commercial eMarketplaces: Online retail platforms like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Etsy, to identify counterfeit products, unauthorized resellers, or fraudulent listings that use the brand's name or logo.
Domain Registries: Monitoring newly registered domains for "typosquatting" (domains with slight misspellings of the official brand domain) or "brand squatting" (registering a brand's name with malicious intent).
Mobile App Marketplaces: Official and third-party app stores (Google Play, Apple App Store, less secure alternative stores) to identify fake or malicious apps impersonating the brand.
Deep and Dark Web: This is a crucial aspect for cybersecurity. These tools scan underground forums, illicit marketplaces, pastebins, and private chat groups where stolen data, credentials, and hacking tools are traded or discussed, to identify mentions of the brand related to data breaches, insider threats, or planned attacks.
Email: Detecting email spoofing and phishing campaigns that trick recipients using the brand's identity.
How They Help with Cybersecurity (Benefits):
Early Threat Detection: They provide real-time alerts for threats like phishing kits, leaked credentials, or impersonation schemes before they escalate into major incidents.
Preventing Brand Impersonation: Swiftly identifies and helps remove fake social media profiles, fraudulent websites, and lookalike domains that aim to deceive customers or spread misinformation.
Protecting Against Phishing and Scams: Detects email-based phishing campaigns and fraudulent websites that impersonate the brand to steal customer data, credentials, or money.
Mitigating Data Leaks and Insider Threats: These tools can monitor the deep and dark web to uncover whether sensitive company data or employee credentials have been leaked or are being traded.
Enhanced Incident Response: By providing real-time alerts and actionable intelligence, organizations can respond more quickly to security incidents, reducing the time to containment and minimizing the impact.
Safeguarding Brand Reputation and Customer Trust: Proactively addressing brand misuse and security threats maintains a positive brand image, vital for customer confidence and loyalty. Customers are less likely to trust a brand associated with fraud or deception.
Protecting Revenue Streams: By identifying and taking down counterfeit listings or fraudulent services, these tools help ensure that customers purchase authentic goods and services, preventing revenue diversion to cybercriminals.
Compliance and Legal Support: Provides evidence needed to enforce intellectual property rights and helps maintain trade and trademark laws compliance.
Key Features of Cybersecurity-Focused Brand Monitoring Tools:
AI-Powered Threat Intelligence: Use artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data, identify suspicious activities, and flag threats based on severity, intent, and credibility.
Comprehensive Digital Footprint Monitoring: Scan a wide range of digital channels, including those mentioned above (surface, deep, dark web, social media, app stores, domains, email).
Automated Takedown Services: Many advanced tools offer or integrate with services that automate requesting the removal of fraudulent websites, fake social media profiles, and phishing domains.
Image and Logo Recognition: Ability to detect unauthorized use of brand logos and visual assets.
Sentiment Analysis: While more marketing-oriented, some tools can analyze the sentiment of mentions to help distinguish between legitimate customer feedback and malicious intent.
Alerting and Incident Response Integration: Generate real-time alerts integrated with existing Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) or Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms for immediate triage and response.
Customizable Watchlists: Allow organizations to define specific brand assets, keywords, and phrases to monitor.
Detailed Reporting and Analytics: Provide insights into the scope and impact of threats, helping in data-driven decision-making.
In essence, brand monitoring tools for cybersecurity act as a proactive defense mechanism, giving organizations the visibility and capabilities to detect and remediate unauthorized use of their brand assets before they cause significant damage to security, reputation, or finances.
ThreatNG, an all-in-one external attack surface management, digital risk protection, and security ratings solution, offers comprehensive capabilities that significantly bolster brand protection in cybersecurity.
External Discovery
ThreatNG excels at purely external, unauthenticated discovery without requiring any connectors. This means it can identify an organization's digital footprint from an attacker's perspective, uncovering assets and potential vulnerabilities visible from the outside world. This is crucial for brand protection as it helps identify unauthorized uses of brand assets that are publicly accessible but unknown to the organization. For instance, ThreatNG's external discovery could reveal a newly registered domain name slightly misspelled by a company's official website, indicating a potential typosquatting attempt designed to phish customers.
External Assessment
ThreatNG performs a variety of external assessment ratings that directly contribute to brand protection by identifying susceptibility to various cyber threats:
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: This assessment leverages external attack surface and digital risk intelligence, including Domain Intelligence, to analyze external parts of a web application for potential attacker entry points. For brand protection, this could involve identifying vulnerabilities on a marketing microsite that, if exploited, could lead to defacement or redirection to a fraudulent site, damaging the brand's reputation.
Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: ThreatNG evaluates this by analyzing a website's subdomains, DNS records, SSL certificate statuses, and other factors using external attack surface and digital risk intelligence, incorporating Domain Intelligence. An example of brand protection would be detecting an expired DNS record for an old campaign subdomain, which an attacker could then claim, leading to a subdomain takeover that allows them to host malicious content or phishing pages under the brand's perceived authority.
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: This is derived from Sentiment and Financials Findings, Domain Intelligence (including DNS Intelligence capabilities like Domain Name Permutations and Web3 Domains, and Email Intelligence for security presence and format prediction), and Dark Web Presence (Compromised Credentials). ThreatNG can, for example, identify standard email address formats a company uses and detect if similar domains are registered for phishing campaigns. It can also determine if compromised credentials from the dark web could be used in Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, impersonating brand executives.
Brand Damage Susceptibility: This score is directly tied to brand protection, derived from attack surface intelligence, digital risk intelligence, ESG Violations, Sentiment and Financials (Lawsuits, SEC filings, SEC Form 8-Ks, and Negative News), and Domain Intelligence (Domain Name Permutations and Web3 Domains). For instance, ThreatNG might flag a newly registered domain permutation that closely resembles the brand name and has been linked to negative news or fraudulent activities, indicating a direct threat to brand reputation.
Data Leak Susceptibility: This assessment uses external attack surface and digital risk intelligence based on Cloud and SaaS Exposure, Dark Web Presence (Compromised Credentials), Domain Intelligence (DNS Intelligence capabilities like Domain Name Permutations, Web3 Domains, and Email Intelligence), and Sentiment and Financials (Lawsuits and SEC Form 8-Ks). An example would be ThreatNG detecting that compromised employee credentials related to the brand are available on the dark web, indicating a potential data leak that could expose sensitive company or customer information and severely damage brand trust.
Mobile App Exposure: ThreatNG evaluates an organization’s mobile app exposure by discovering them in marketplaces and analyzing their content for access credentials, security credentials, and platform-specific identifiers. This could involve finding a malicious mobile app impersonating the brand on a third-party app store, complete with the brand's logo and name, but designed to steal user data. ThreatNG would identify the presence of exposed API keys or other sensitive information within the app's code that attackers could exploit.
Reporting
ThreatNG provides various reports, including Executive, Technical, Prioritized (High, Medium, Low, and Informational), Security Ratings, Inventory, Ransomware Susceptibility, and U.S. SEC Filings. For brand protection, these reports offer a clear overview of identified brand-related risks, their severity, and actionable recommendations. An Executive Report, for instance, could highlight the overall "Brand Damage Susceptibility" score and detail the most critical threats, such as widespread brand impersonation on social media, allowing leadership to make informed decisions.
Continuous Monitoring
ThreatNG continuously monitors external attack surface, digital risk, and security ratings for all organizations. This continuous vigilance is essential for brand protection, as new threats can emerge rapidly. For example, if a new phishing campaign using a brand's logo and name is launched, ThreatNG's continuous monitoring would detect it quickly and alert the security team, enabling a swift response to mitigate the damage.
Investigation Modules
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide deep insights crucial for brand protection:
Domain Intelligence: This module comprehensively explains an organization's domain presence.
Domain Overview: Provides insights into digital presence, Microsoft Entra Identification, Domain Enumeration, Bug Bounty Programs, and related SwaggerHub instances. For brand protection, this could involve identifying a domain registered by a competitor that misleadingly uses the brand's name or uncovering a "typosquatted" domain that aims to trick users.
DNS Intelligence: Includes Domain Record Analysis (IP Identification, Vendors and Technology Identification), Domain Name Permutations (Taken and Available), and Web3 Domains (Taken and Available). ThreatNG can identify if someone has registered multiple domain permutations of a company's brand name (e.g., companyname-support.com, companyname-login.net), which are frequently used for phishing or fraudulent activities. It can also identify if a brand's name is used on Web3 domains for unauthorized purposes.
Email Intelligence: Provides Security Presence (DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records), Format Predictions, and Harvested Emails. This helps brand protection by identifying if a brand's email domains are vulnerable to spoofing, a common tactic in phishing and BEC attacks. It can also detect if valid company email addresses have been harvested and are being sold on the dark web, indicating a potential source for targeted brand impersonation.
Mobile Application Discovery: ThreatNG discovers mobile apps related to the organization in marketplaces and checks their content for exposed access credentials, security credentials, and platform-specific identifiers. For example, ThreatNG might find a rogue mobile application in an unofficial app store that mimics a legitimate banking app. It might contain hardcoded API keys that an attacker could use to access sensitive backend systems, thereby compromising the brand's security and customer trust.
Search Engine Exploitation: This module discovers website control files like robots.txt and security.txt and assesses susceptibility to exposing information via search engines. ThreatNG could reveal that a brand's internal development environment or sensitive customer data repository is inadvertently indexed by search engines due to misconfigured robots.txt files, making it publicly discoverable and risking significant brand damage through data exposure.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: Identifies sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services, cloud service impersonations, open exposed cloud buckets, and various SaaS implementations. ThreatNG could detect an open AWS S3 bucket belonging to the organization that contains customer data or proprietary source code, which, if exploited, could lead to a major data breach and significant brand reputational harm. It could also identify if a brand's SaaS accounts (e.g., Salesforce, Slack) are being impersonated or misused.
Online Sharing Exposure: Detects organizational entity presence within online code-sharing platforms like Pastebin, GitHub Gist, Scribd, Slideshare, Prezi, and GitHub Code. ThreatNG can flag instances where internal company documents, API keys, or proprietary code snippets related to the brand have been inadvertently posted on Pastebin, making them accessible to malicious actors and potentially leading to brand damage through intellectual property theft or security breaches.
Dark Web Presence: Monitors organizational mentions of related or defined people, places, or things, associated ransomware events, and compromised credentials. ThreatNG can identify if a brand's executives or high-value employees are being discussed on dark web forums for impersonation attempts, or if compromised customer databases associated with the brand are being sold.
Intelligence Repositories (DarCache)
ThreatNG's continuously updated intelligence repositories, branded as DarCache, provide critical data for brand protection:
Dark Web (DarCache Dark Web): This repository provides insights into illicit activities on the dark web. For brand protection, this could mean identifying discussions about creating fake products using a company's brand name or planning phishing attacks that impersonate the brand.
Compromised Credentials (DarCache Rupture): This repository tracks compromised credentials. Suppose employee or customer credentials associated with the brand are found here. In that case, it directly threatens the brand's security and reputation, as these credentials could be used for account takeovers or further attacks. ThreatNG can alert organizations to such exposures, allowing them to force password resets and notify affected individuals.
Ransomware Groups and Activities (DarCache Ransomware): Tracking over 70 ransomware gangs helps identify if a brand is being targeted or discussed by ransomware groups. This proactive intelligence can help organizations bolster their defenses against ransomware attacks that could disrupt operations and damage brand trust.
Vulnerabilities (DarCache Vulnerability): Provides a holistic and proactive approach to managing external risks and vulnerabilities, understanding real-world exploitability, likelihood of exploitation, and potential impact. This includes:
NVD (DarCache NVD): Information on attack complexity, interaction, vector, and impact scores (Availability, Confidentiality, Integrity), CVSS Score, and Severity. This helps understand the technical characteristics and potential impact of vulnerabilities that could affect brand-related applications or systems.
EPSS (DarCache EPSS): Offers a probabilistic estimate of the likelihood of a vulnerability being exploited. Combining this with other data helps prioritize vulnerabilities that are likely to be weaponized, protecting brand assets from immediate threats.
KEV (DarCache KEV): Identifies vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild, providing critical context for prioritizing remediation. This is vital for brand protection as it focuses resources on immediate threats that could lead to breaches or service disruptions.
Verified Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Exploits (DarCache eXploit): Provides direct links to PoC exploits, significantly accelerating the understanding of how a vulnerability can be exploited. This allows security teams to reproduce vulnerabilities, assess real-world impact on their specific environment, and develop effective mitigation strategies, thus proactively protecting the brand.
ESG Violations (DarCache ESG): Monitors competition, consumer, employment, environment, financial, government contracting, healthcare, and safety-related offenses. While not a cyber threat, ESG violations can severely impact a brand's reputation and customer trust, which ThreatNG helps monitor.
Mobile Apps (DarCache Mobile): Indicates the presence of access credentials, security credentials, and platform-specific identifiers within mobile apps. This is crucial for identifying rogue mobile apps that impersonate the brand or contain exposed sensitive information.
Synergies with Complementary Solutions in Brand Protection
While ThreatNG offers robust capabilities, it can work seamlessly with other brand protection solutions to create a more holistic defense:
Complementary Solutions for Automated Takedowns: ThreatNG can identify a wide range of brand infringements and cyber threats. When it detects a fraudulent website or a fake social media profile impersonating the brand, it can pass this intelligence to specialized brand protection solutions focusing on automated takedown requests. For example, if ThreatNG identifies a typosquatted domain used for phishing, it could automatically trigger a takedown request via a domain registrar or hosting provider through a complementary solution, significantly reducing the time it takes to neutralize the threat.
Complementary Solutions for Social Media Monitoring & Enforcement: ThreatNG provides social media monitoring as part of its broader digital footprint assessment. For deeply entrenched brand protection on social platforms, ThreatNG can integrate with dedicated social media brand protection platforms that specialize in identifying nuanced brand misuse, copyright infringement on content, and impersonation, specifically on social channels. ThreatNG might detect a general rise in brand mentions on social media related to potential scams, and a complementary solution could then dive deeper, pinpointing specific fake accounts or posts and initiating platform-specific content removal processes.
Complementary Solutions for Counterfeit Product Detection: ThreatNG can identify unauthorized listings or fraudulent products on e-marketplaces through its broad scanning capabilities. It can then share this intelligence with complementary solutions that combat counterfeit goods. For example, ThreatNG might flag a seller on an e-commerce platform using the brand's logo. A specialized anti-counterfeiting solution could conduct a deeper analysis, verify the product's authenticity, and initiate legal action or platform takedown procedures.
Complementary Solutions for Trademark and Copyright Enforcement: ThreatNG's ability to identify domain name permutations and unauthorized use of brand assets serves as an early warning system. This intelligence can be fed into legal and intellectual property management systems or used by solutions focused on global trademark and copyright enforcement. For instance, if ThreatNG identifies the registration of a new domain name that directly infringes on a company's trademark, this information can be immediately provided to legal teams who, with the help of specialized legal enforcement tools, can issue cease-and-desist letters or pursue legal action.
Examples of ThreatNG in Action for Brand Protection
Detecting Phishing Campaigns: An attacker registers mycompany-suport.com (a common misspelling of mycompany-support.com) and sets up a fake login page. ThreatNG's Domain Intelligence would discover this new domain through Domain Name Permutations and flag it due to its similarity to the official brand domain. The BEC & Phishing Susceptibility assessment would factor this into the overall risk score. ThreatNG's continuous monitoring would trigger an alert upon discovery, allowing the organization to initiate a takedown process and warn customers quickly.
Identifying Leaked Credentials: During its Dark Web Presence monitoring, ThreatNG's DarCache Rupture intelligence repository identifies that a list of compromised employee credentials (email addresses and passwords) associated with mycompany.com is being sold on an underground forum. This directly contributes to the Data Leak Susceptibility score. The organization is immediately alerted, enabling them to force password resets for affected employees and investigate the source of the leak, thereby protecting the brand's integrity and preventing potential account takeovers.
Uncovering Rogue Mobile Apps: ThreatNG's Mobile Application Discovery identifies a mobile application on a third-party app store that uses MyCompany's logo and app name but is not official. Upon analysis, ThreatNG's DarCache Mobile finds exposed access credentials within the app's code. This immediately raises the Mobile App Exposure score. The organization can then work with the app store to remove the malicious app and alert customers to its fraudulent nature, preventing brand damage and user compromise.
Preventing Subdomain Takeovers: ThreatNG's Subdomain Intelligence reveals that a subdomain like oldcampaign.mycompany.com has an expired DNS record, making it vulnerable to a takeover. The Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility assessment highlights this critical risk. An attacker could register the abandoned DNS record and host malicious content, damaging the brand's reputation. ThreatNG's alert allows the organization to decommission the subdomain or re-secure its DNS records properly.
