The winter holidays mean different things in every corner of the world. What brings us together is the sense of community and celebration, whether we celebrate Christmas or not. At EBRAND, we love sharing each of our international offices’ unique ways of marking the winter break, all while they support leading brands locally and globally. 

Let’s make the most of the festive season by spotlighting a few key winter traditions. Here, we’ll take a look at some of our regional offices, and see how they celebrate the festive season. We’ll also look at the challenges they help their clients with, and the solutions they’ve found to boost and protect brands. Together, we’ll share cultural insights, and tackle regional and international brand protection trends to prepare your business for the year ahead.

United States: Bright Lights and Community

The American winter holidays celebrate spectacle, tradition, and unity across the states. Shoppers rush through busy high streets across the nation, as decorated trees spring up in squares and plazas, and festive lights illuminate stores and homes from within. In New York, certain neighbourhoods compete for the best and brightest displays, including the famous Dyker Heights lights in Brooklyn. The United States represents a rich cultural melting pot, as celebrants enjoy holidays like Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and more. Diverse celebrations share well-wishes, gatherings, and gift-giving, both online and off. 

Unfortunately, this wave of holiday cheer and spending actively fuels a parallel surge in digital scammers. Our US team consistently documents a dramatic end-of-year spike in sophisticated CEO impersonation and Business Email Compromise (BEC) phishing campaigns. Attackers craft urgent, credible emails posing as executives, often requesting wire transfers for “holiday bonuses” or “critical vendor payments” from finance departments busy with year-end closures.

To combat this seasonal threat landscape, EBRAND’s U.S.-based Digital Risk Protection (DRP) teams leverage AI-driven executive monitoring and rapid-response takedown networks. Our systems continuously scan for domain spoofs, fake social media profiles impersonating C-suite executives, and newly launched phishing pages. For example, recently for a national retail client, we identified and dismantled a network of over 80 fraudulent websites that had sprung up to mimic their Christmas promotion. Dismantling this network helped mitigate impersonations before they could impact the holiday sales period. 

Germany: Christmas Markets and Marketplace Protection

In Germany, where Christmas markets were first created in the Middle Ages, you’ll find the Christmas spirit in the glow of a “Weihnachtsmarkt”. These historic markets have long been places of tradition and community, for sharing food, drinks, and shopping. As you walk among wooden stalls, you can pick up a mulled wine (Glühwein) and some handcrafted ornaments. German shoppers in the Christmas markets carry the same sense of community engagement into the digital world, which makes protecting a brand’s good name online absolutely essential.

We must mention, unfortunately, that the Christmas season also sends a shadowy economy of fake shops into overdrive, in stark contrast to the bright cheer of the Christmas markets. Fake shops spring up online, along with sophisticated fake online stores, which our international teams track every day. Scammers build fraudulent websites that copy legitimate German brands, especially in popular categories like clothing, luxuries, and consumer goods. Scammers then push these sites through targeted social media ads and search results, offering high-demand products at cut-throat prices. Ultimately, fake shops damage hard-earned reputations and break customer trust when shoppers receive bad products or nothing at all. 

We specialize in hunting down these counterfeits across every digital corner, from big marketplaces to social media. Our tools use smart image recognition to spot fakes, and our local experts know exactly how to remove them. Because we have strong relationships with hosting companies and platforms here, we can execute fast, high-volume takedowns. Just this season, we’ve taken down hundreds of these fraudulent shops. We do this to protect our clients’ revenue and to ensure their customers enjoy the genuine, trustworthy experience they deserve. 

UK & Ireland: Frosty Christmas Swims and Fake Ads Detection 

The holidays in the UK and Ireland bring a unique mix of festive fun and warm community. Think of the brave souls taking a Christmas Day swim in the Atlantic, or the lively, local gatherings of St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland. In villages and cities, you’ll find friends embarking on the ’12 Pubs of Christmas’ crawl, while families nationwide gather to watch the iconic Late Late Toy Show on the first Friday of December. For many, the spiritual heart of the season is Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Amid all these traditions, the unconditional love for your family and friends carries over into how people shop for their loved ones.

Sadly, the busy holiday ad space is a playground for scammers. Our UK and Ireland teams fight a constant battle against fake ads and dangerous mobile apps. Fraudsters create convincing social media and search ads that steal brand logos to promote impossible holiday deals. These ads often lead straight to phishing sites or fake marketplaces, designed to scam Christmas shoppers.

Our answer is to watch and monitor online marketplaces and digital ad space so that brands themselves don’t have to. We use specialized technology to monitor ad networks and app stores around the clock, hunting for any unauthorized use of a brand’s name or look. When we find a problem, we move quickly with takedown requests and legal action to break up these fraud networks. For example, we recently helped a major UK department store find and disable a whole network of fake Facebook ads. We stopped the scam just before the biggest shopping weekend of the season, protecting both revenue and customer trust. 

Denmark: Julehygge and Digital Defenses 

In Denmark, Christmas is all about julehygge. This concept refers to the cherished feeling of cozy, joyful togetherness. Families gather by candlelight to play games and share plates of warm æbleskiver, those beloved pancake puffs. This culture of comfort and trust extends online, where Danish consumers confidently shop with familiar brands they believe in. 

Our Danish team works hard to prevent cybercriminals from exploiting that same trust to impersonate and attack brands online. Scammers use technical tricks like typosquatting, where they register domains with common spelling mistakes of popular brand names. They often use local domain endings like .dk to look legitimate. These fake sites become traps for phishing, malware, or counterfeit ads. They directly attack a brand’s digital home ground, abusing the trust that Nordic customers place in their favorite brands. 

Fortunately, our Scandinavian experts specialize in guarding your digital address. The EBRAND team keeps a constant, global watch on new domain registrations, using smart algorithms to predict and flag typosquatting attempts against our clients. When we find a threat, we act fast. We send takedown notices, strategically acquire problematic domains, and launch formal proceedings to reclaim what’s yours. This proactive work has already allowed us to reclaim or neutralize dozens of threatening domains for our Danish clients. Our job is to make sure your customers always find their way to your real, secure website, so they can enjoy their festive winter break without a worry. 

Christmas Conclusions: Our Global Commitments

Our teams around the world enjoy their unique traditions, from parades to markets, from frosty swims to cozy hygge. What brings us together is a communal mission to safeguard brands and consumers in the holiday period and beyond.

From all of us at EBRAND, across every office, we wish you a peaceful, secure, and very Merry Christmas. 

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AI and risk management converged throughout 2025, as artificial intelligence threatens businesses but also delivers the tools to fight back too. Enterprises around the world now face a rapidly expanding pool of AI driven threats. These threats move, adapt, and scale faster than traditional safeguards can manage. 

Going forwards, this shift places new pressure on brand owners and digital teams. AI allows attackers to mimic communication styles, automate infrastructure, and produce convincing assets in seconds. To counteract these evolving threats, we need to consider artificial intelligence and risk management as a strategic priority, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in the guide below. In the mean time, you can also get a free AI risk audit for your business right here.

AI-powered attacks on global businesses 

AI fundamentally reshaped the threat landscape. Criminal actors generate highly convincing phishing emails that adjust tone, structure and vocabulary for specific industries and geographies. They create fake ads and fraudulent Meta Ads that mirror genuine brand campaigns. Copywriting models produce text that aligns with a company’s authentic style, which challenges even trained teams to distinguish legitimate content from fabricated messaging. 

Gen AI produces full-scale copycat websites that replicate brand architecture, colour palettes, imagery and tone. Criminal groups deploy automated domain generation, cloaking, and rapid hosting rotation to avoid detection. These websites collect credentials, redirect sales and cause sustained reputational damage. In this environment, businesses need AI and risk management to identify brand misuse across domains, DNS, hosting infrastructure and connected criminal networks. 

Authorities and industries react to AI cyberthreats

Authorities now treat AI and risk management as a combined priority. Regulators across the US, EU, UK draft and implement more and more legislation on the topic, as AI driven attacks grow in speed and precision. Many sectors now face stricter reporting timelines, broader scoping and closer supervision, with regulators aiming to close the gap between modern threat patterns and organizational resilience.

For example, the EU’s NIS2 Directive sets binding cybersecurity requirements across a wide range of industries, with strict reporting obligations and meaningful penalties. Across regions, the direction stays consistent: regulators raise the baseline, industries adjust, and AI enabled threats accelerate the need for stronger, more integrated risk governance.

Industry behavior reflects the same shift, as organizations increasingly turn to cyber insurance to safeguard against attacks that seem inevitable. Many SMEs and enterprises already expect suppliers to hold robust cyber insurance coverage. That being said, insurance presents a fairly passive approach to oncoming threats. More ambitious organizations aim to tackle AI infringements head on.

Fighting fire with fire: Deploying AI and risk management

In the right hands, AI itself often delivers the best solution to the very same threats it poses. Scammers use AI to inundate organizations with fake ads and generated websites, but smart scrapers deliver the tools to detect and mitigate them at scale. Identity first protection provides a foundation because it maps every digital signal back to one authoritative brand identity. This approach allows teams to recognize legitimate assets, detect impersonations, and resolve anomalies at speed. 

AI-driven image and logo recognition identify visual misuse and detect deepfake risks. Automated analysis uncovers phishing kits, credential harvesters, botnet activity and SSL clustering. Marketplace scanning reveals counterfeit listings, forming a key tenet of AI and risk management. Monitoring across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Threads, VK, BlueSky and major ad networks highlights AI generated scams and spoofed promotions. When combined with intelligence about domains, hosting, stealer logs and Telegram chatter, this creates a complete picture of the threat environment. 

Implementing AI in a unified defence strategy 

Enterprises need more than isolated tools. They need unified workflows that connect cyber security, legal, brand, marketing, IT, ecommerce and fraud teams. Central dashboards and shared intelligence shorten response cycles and improve consistency across the organisation. Full European governance offers assurance for regulated industries and keeps compliance expectations at the forefront. 

Embedding artificial intelligence and risk management into a single defensive ecosystem allows enterprises to intercept emerging threats, improve response velocity and maintain visibility across the entire brand surface. 

AI evolves continuously, and so do the related threats. Criminals increase automation, personalize deception and expand into new channels. Businesses need AI powered digital risk protection to match that pace. This includes identity anchored intelligence, behavioural modelling, cross channel correlation and real time threat interception. The integration of AI into defensive operations is no longer optional. It is a requirement for long term resilience. 

Conclusions: Your AI and risk management strategy

Artificial intelligence and risk management define the next chapter of brand protection and risk protection online. Attackers already use AI to impersonate brands, deceive customers and hide fraudulent infrastructure. Enterprises that adopt AI-driven intelligence and unify their defensive posture will lead the way in 2026. To support this shift, EBRAND offers a free brand audit to assess your exposure to AI-powered threats and provide clear recommendations for improvement. 

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A ping. A flash of light across a screen. One notification among hundreds in a busy workday. That’s all it takes for a phishing email to bring down a business. Cybercriminal gangs increasingly target US organizations, drawn to the country’s size, wealth, and digital dependence. High-margin industries like finance and pharmaceuticals face constant pressure from scammers who adapt faster than security tools can keep up. 

Even well-protected firms fall victim to new, AI-powered attacks. According to Microsoft’s latest threat report, state-backed groups and cybercriminal gangs doubled their use of AI in phishing campaigns in 2025, generating flawless English messages and deepfake content to deceive employees. Mastercard found that 78% of US consumers now see online threats as a bigger risk than home security. Every click carries consequences. 

In this guide, we’ll focus on the financial and pharmaceutical industries to show how one phishing email can evolve into large-scale breaches, fake apps, data theft, and reputation damage. If you want to know where your vulnerabilities lie, request a free digital risk audit from EBRAND and learn how to protect your organization today. 

What is a Phishing Email? 

A phishing email is a fraudulent message that impersonates a trusted company or colleague to trick recipients into sharing credentials, downloading malware, or making unauthorized payments. It’s often short, urgent, and convincing, and it preys on human attention. 

Modern phishing emails use AI to create credible messages and clone company branding. Attackers buy expired domains, imitate suppliers, and build trust over weeks before delivering malware. They back up each email campaign with a whole raft of assets, from fake social media accounts to fraudulent links and login pages. For a single employee, it looks like a normal business exchange. For the organization, it’s the start of a breach. 

A Recent Example: Lumma Infostealer and the Cost of One Click 

The Lumma infostealer campaign showed just how damaging one phishing email can be. Distributed globally, Lumma infected systems across finance, education, and healthcare by posing as routine correspondence. Once opened, the malware harvested passwords, bank credentials, and crypto wallet keys, feeding them into dark-web marketplaces. 

The US Department of Justice and Microsoft recently dismantled over 2,300 Lumma-linked domains. But even after the takedown, copycat malware continues to circulate. Lumma’s design mirrors another threat, Darcula, a phish kit we’ve analyzed in detail in our recent guide, both underline the same point: attackers weaponize familiarity to infiltrate trusted networks. 

From a Phishing Email to Shopping Fraud and Fake Banking Pages 

Shopping and retail fraud now accounts for nearly 40% of all online scams. Many start with a phishing email claiming to verify a recent purchase or update payment information. Victims land on counterfeit websites identical to their bank’s homepage, where they unknowingly hand over their credentials. 

These fake portals don’t just drain individual accounts; they erode trust in legitimate financial institutions. Criminals rely on stolen data to run broader fraud campaigns and fuel new phishing email attacks, compounding the damage. 

Fake Investment Apps and the Mobile Threat 

Cybercriminals are exploiting fake investment and crypto apps that look genuine but operate in hidden virtual spaces. The GodFather malware, uncovered by researchers, runs authentic banking apps inside a virtual environment, recording every tap and PIN entry. 

Because users see a real interface, the fraud is nearly impossible to detect. This sophistication shows how mobile-first phishing attacks now complement email campaigns, extending cybercriminal control across multiple channels. 

How a Phishing Email Targets Finance and Crypto Firms 

Financial and crypto companies remain prime targets. Attackers use phishing emails that imitate customer-service messages or compliance requests to bypass multi-factor authentication. Legacy banks, fintech startups, and exchanges alike face daily credential theft attempts. 

The result is a continuous cycle: one compromised account funds the next round of attacks. Even a single phishing email can cascade into ransomware, account takeover, and regulatory scrutiny. 

Pharmaceutical Firms Under Attack 

Pharmaceutical companies sit at the crossroads of money, data, and innovation. Unfortunately, this unique market positioning presents an irresistible combination for cybercriminals. A phishing email sent to a research team or supplier can expose intellectual property, supply-chain data, and trial results. 

Recent attacks show that threat actors use fake NDAs and partner requests to deliver backdoors like MixShell. Once inside, they move laterally, collecting patient information and proprietary drug formulas. For a sector built on confidentiality, the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

Fighting Back with Digital Risk Protection 

To defend against phishing email attacks and related threats, organizations need more than antivirus software. Digital Risk Protection (DRP) tools monitor external risks, from dark-web data leaks to credential theft in stealer logs. 

Stealer logs are databases of stolen credentials and browser data traded on dark-web forums. Monitoring them helps companies identify compromised accounts before attackers exploit them. EBRAND’s AI-powered systems scan these spaces continuously, correlating threat signals to protect clients from emerging scams. 

Beyond Email: The Fake App and Executive Impersonation Threat 

Cybercriminals don’t stop at a phishing email. They build fake mobile apps and use facial recognition technologies to create convincing profiles of executives, CFOs, and CEOs. These clones appear in fake investment schemes, social-media campaigns, and coordinated phishing operations targeting finance and pharma firms. 

VIP and Executive Protection services, including monitoring and takedown tools, help organizations get ahead of these evolving threats. With the right solution, you’ll remove these impersonations and infringements from app stores, social platforms, and rogue domains. Comprehensive coverage ensures full control of your digital presence. 

Conclusion: Fight the Phishing Email Threat

Phishing emails remain the entry point for most cyberattacks in the United States. They exploit trust, speed, and routine to infiltrate even the best-defended systems. For financial and pharmaceutical companies, these attacks threaten revenue, clients, and hard-won reputations. 

At EBRAND, we’re expanding our presence in the US to support local businesses with advanced Digital Risk Protection, Online Brand Protection, and Corporate Domain Management solutions. Reach out to our team today, and we’ll connect you with a local expert, assess your organization’s exposure, and help you build a resilient defense against the next phishing email. 

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Picture this: In this Douyin live stream, the seller discreetly peddles counterfeit luxury goods imitating XXX designs and trademarks. They use vague labels such as ‘top-tier original manufacturer copies’ and coded ordering (e.g., ‘C24’) to conceal the products’ inauthenticity and evade the platform’s monitoring. This tactic is a typical example of how counterfeiters disguise the sale of fake luxury goods in Douyin live streams and other Chinese ecommerce platforms.

While this scenario is frustratingly common, it is increasingly encountering a wave of new governance measures. As the Chinese ecommerce market continues to lead global transactions (accounting for over 45% of worldwide online retail sales in 2025), the fight against counterfeits and infringements has developed into a high-stakes contest involving technology, regulation, and platform-specific strategies. Below, we analyse the latest trends, platform actions, and ongoing challenges that are shaping this crucial field. You can also get a free brand audit to see if your brand is protected across Chinese ecommerce platforms and beyond right here.

2025 Core Trends: New Dynamics of Infringement in Chinese EcommerceEcosystems

The landscape of counterfeiting and infringement in the Chinese ecommerce sector is no longer a one-size-fits-all situation. Instead, it has evolved into platform-specific and scenario-driven challenges, each posing unique risks to consumers and brands.

1. Chinese Ecommerce & Live-Streaming: The Top Infringements

Live-streaming platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou have become the primary locations for counterfeit complaints. Data in 2025 shows a 62% year-on-year increase in reports related to live sales. A key driver behind this is the rise of ‘Superfakes’—highly sophisticated counterfeits that mimic luxury goods (e.g., designer bags, high-end 3C products) with a simulation rate of over 95%. These counterfeits use advanced manufacturing techniques to replicate materials and logos, and they now account for more than 30% of all counterfeit-related complaints on live-streaming platforms.

Meanwhile, social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu face a different threat: AI-generated deceptive content. Complaints about ‘product mismatch’, where the received item differs from the AI-synthesized review images, have risen by 78% year-on-year. Young consumers, attracted by visually appealing ‘grass-planting’ posts (a term referring to product recommendation content), often fall victim to these falsified product demonstrations.

2. ‘Ghost Stores’: The Elusive Chinese Ecommerce Enforcement Challenge

A major problem for regulators is the widespread existence of ‘ghost stores’, online shops with false addresses and contact information. According to China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), more than 50% of stores involved in counterfeiting fall into this category, making it almost impossible for regulatory teams to track down their physical operations. These stores often appear temporarily, especially during sales events, and disappear once complaints accumulate, leaving consumers with little chance of seeking redress.

3. Globalized Cross-Border Counterfeit Chains

In 2025, cross-border counterfeiting has undergone a dangerous evolution: the ‘overseas labelling + cross-border distribution’ model. Unscrupulous sellers establish shell companies in Southeast Asia and Latin America, attach ‘foreign brand’ labels to domestically produced counterfeits, and sell them back to China through platforms like Temu and Shein. This tactic takes advantage of tariff gaps and regulatory blind spots, and such cases now make up 45% of all cross-border Chinese ecommerce complaints.

4. Sales Events: Infringement ‘Peak Seasons’

China’s flagship ecommerce events, Double 11 (November 11) and 618 (June 18), remain magnets for counterfeits. During the 2025 Double 11, Pinduoduo’s ‘Billion Subsidy’ section alone received 230,000 complaints regarding low-quality and counterfeit goods. Over 60% of these complaints involved fake home appliances and cosmetics, and some items (e.g., shoddy power banks) even posed fire hazards. This is a stark reminder of the safety risks associated with event-driven counterfeiting.

2025 Governance Updates: Platform-Specific Solutions & Tech Innovation

Major Chinese ecommerce platforms have responded to these challenges with customized strategies, leveraging technology to address gaps in counterfeit detection and infringement prevention.

1. Taobao/Tmall: Blockchain for ‘Superfake’ Traceability

To tackle high-end counterfeits, Taobao and Tmall launched a Blockchain Authenticity Traceability System in 2025. In collaboration with over 1,000 luxury and 3C brands, the system tracks products from manufacturing and storage to sales. Consumers can scan a QR code to view details such as the sources of raw materials and factory certifications, effectively eliminating ‘information asymmetry’ for premium goods. By the end of 2025, this system had blocked 120,000 links to ‘Superfakes.’

2. Douyin: AI for Real-Time Chinese Ecommerce Live-Streaming Monitoring

Douyin’s solution to live-streaming fraud is its AI Live Monitoring Tool, which analyzes both verbal claims (e.g., exaggerated product functions) and visual demonstrations (e.g., mismatched samples) in real time. When the tool detects violations, it automatically triggers alerts and pauses non-compliant streams. In 2025, this technology handled 32,000 non-compliant live streams, marking a crucial step in curbing deceptive sales tactics.

3. JD: Logistics-Driven Counterfeit Interception

In 2025, JD leveraged its proprietary logistics network to establish ‘Counterfeit Interception Warehouses.’ All incoming products undergo three rounds of inspections: appearance checks, functional tests, and component analysis. By the end of the year, these warehouses had seized 8 million problematic items, with 65% of them being cross-border goods. JD also introduced a ‘24-Hour Counterfeit Refund’ service, ensuring that consumers receive full refunds promptly if they receive counterfeit products.

4. Xiaohongshu: AI-Generated Content Verification

To address fraud involving AI-synthesized reviews, Xiaohongshu developed an Image Authenticity Check Feature. When users upload ‘grass-planting’ posts, the system scans the images for traces of AI generation and labels them with a ‘Synthesis Risk Level’. These risks include ‘Low Risk’ for minor edits and ‘High Risk’ for fully AI-created conten. By 2025, this feature had flagged 500,000 suspicious posts, helping users make more informed purchasing decisions.

5. Strengthened Regulatory-Platform Collaboration

To combat these trends, SAMR has partnered with China Customs to launch the ‘Cross-Border Ecommerce Counterfeit Traceability Initiative.’ In 2025, the number of cross-border product inspections increased by 90% year-on-year. These inspections primarily focused on cracking down on ‘overseas labelled’ counterfeits. Additionally, the Measures for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Live-Streaming Ecommerce officially came into effect. This required platforms to implement end-to-end supervision of livestreamers’ product qualifications, including pre-review, real-time monitoring, and post-sales tracing. Non-compliant platforms face fines of up to 5 million RMB, which serves as a significant deterrent.

Conclusion: Securing Chinese Ecommerce Platforms

2025 marks a turning point in China’s fight against ecommerce counterfeits and infringements. This turning point is defined by innovation, coordination between regulators and platforms, and third-party brand protection partners like EBRAND. Together, we can fill governance gaps (e.g., cross-platform monitoring, global regulatory collaboration) that platforms alone cannot address. As the Chinese ecommerce market continues to evolve, brands that combine ‘platform synergy’ with ‘third-party expertise’ position themselves best. With those strategies in hand, we can protect reputations and gain consumer trust.

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The recent FDA warning to 18 companies for selling counterfeit “Botox” online serves as a stark reminder that intellectual property infringement is not a victimless crime. These kinds of scams pose a direct threat to public health. Counterfeit products, often purchased through social media ads or fraudulent websites, inflict serious harm on consumers, from blurry vision and difficulty swallowing to life-threatening illnesses like botulism and more. 

This crisis highlights a critical challenge for rights holders. As dangerous goods spread on digital marketplaces, our enforcement playbook must evolve faster than the criminals. 

Direct Hazards of Counterfeit Health Products 

Often, counterfeit health and beauty products simply don’t work as advertised. Beyond that, they also evade safety standards and spread poison to consumers.When someone purchases fake Botox, unapproved pharmaceuticals, or adulterated skincare, they unknowingly participate in a high-stakes gamble with their well-being. Counterfeit cosmetics often contain harmful substances like bacteria, lead, and arsenic.  

Fake pharmaceuticals play fast and loose with incorrect dosages, wrong active ingredients, or toxic substitutes. When scammers side-step quality controls, their medical devices fail catastrophically far more often. These products enter the market with no regulatory oversight, bypassing the safety standards that protect consumers from irreversible harm. 

Evading Regulatory Scrutiny 

Criminal networks deliberately structure their online operations to avoid detection by authorities like American trading standards and global regulatory bodies. They use complex supply chains, shell companies, and anonymous domain registrations to obscure their identities. Their sales platforms move in constant flux, shifting from social media platforms like TikTok to standalone websites and back again. 

A core tactic is the rapid deployment of fraudulent websites designed to impersonate legitimate brands. These digital storefronts, often using slight variations of well-known trademarks, exist only long enough to process orders for counterfeit or dangerous goods before disappearing. Just as one is taken down, another appears under a new name, selling the same fraudulent products and eroding consumer trust. 

This endless cycle of deception poses a critical question: so how can brands, pharmaceutical or otherwise, protect their trademarks and their customers from these impersonations online? 

Technical Tactics to Unmask Counterfeit Health Products 

As scammers evolve, we need smarter ways to fight back. For example, modern brands use specialized monitoring tools to track technical changes around suspicious domains. Technical clues towards nefarious activities include the Domain Name System (DNS) records, which function like a website’s address book. By watching for alterations to these records, such as a domain suddenly switching to a new hosting provider or server location, we can map the infrastructure, as scammers build and expand their operations. Brand protection platforms also analyze SSL certificates, the security protocols that create the “HTTPS” lock icon in a browser. When a rogue site selling counterfeit health products acquires an SSL certificate, it falsely signals to visitors that the site is safe and legitimate, making this a critical data point for early detection. 

Monitoring extends to the website content itself, tracking when a previously empty domain suddenly populates with text and images that mimic a trusted brand. This comprehensive view of a domain’s evolution, from its technical backbone to its public-facing appearance, provides a powerful evidence trail. Detailed evidence supports traditional domain takedowns as well as broader enforcement actions. 

The Brand’s Role: Proactive Monitoring and Takedowns 

Brands must also lead the charge in a proactive defense of their digital territory. Relying solely on platform enforcement is no longer sufficient to protect your revenue and your clients. A comprehensive strategy includes continuous social media and ad monitoring to scan for impersonator accounts and malicious ads. Advanced, AI-powered detection tools analyze millions of data points to identify patterns and uncover sophisticated fake storefronts.  

Following detection, brands need a rapid and legally backed takedown process to remove infringing content from social media platforms, web content, digital advertisers, and even app stores. Detecting counterfeit health products demands immediate action to protect the toxic and ineffective goods. To protect consumers, use the information and evidence you’ve gathered so far to escalate countermeasures towards permanent website takedowns. This tactic helps tackle the most persistent bad actors at the source of their online ecosystem. Dismantling criminal infrastructure establishes a long-lasting deterrant, rather than just treating the symptoms. 

Vigilance Against Counterfeit Health Products

The sale of counterfeit health products presents a clear and present danger to consumers. Protecting the public requires a collaborative effort that combines regulatory action, financial industry initiatives, and aggressive brand-led enforcement. By deploying a layered defense that monitors the digital landscape, disrupts financial flows, and executes swift takedowns, rights holders protect their IP and their customers.  

Ultimately, understanding your unique risks lays the foundations for robust defense that protects the health of your consumers and your brand online.  

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Cyberattacks hit the UK retail sector hard, disrupting operations, terrifying customers, and wreaking havoc with revenue. Large-scale cyber incidents compromised several prominent high-street brands in recent months alone. Clearly, developments in cyberattack strategies, from phishing to malware, usher in a new normal of indiscriminate online threats and tangible losses on corporate balance sheets.

While these attacks affect major retailers and consumer goods brands across the UK and Ireland, they offer a critical lesson for global companies. The next generation of tactics and consequences teach important lessons for any businesses wishing to reinforce their digital defenses. In this guide, we’ll explore exactly that, but you can also get a free digital risk audit in the meantime too.

Recent Wake-Up Calls

The recent cyberattack on Marks & Spencer provides a stark case study in operational disruption. Attackers used a sophisticated phishing scheme to breach the retailer’s systems, which forced the company to halt online orders for nearly seven weeks. This prolonged shutdown caused clothing and home sales to plummet by a fifth during a crucial trading period.

This event clearly demonstrates how a single security incident can completely disrupt your core revenue channel. The financial fallout was immediate and handed a clear advantage to competitors. This recent attack forms a pattern of cyber threats moving from an IT concern to a central business continuity issue.

Retail Cyberattacks: An Alarming National Trend

Data from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reveals the UK now experiences an average of four “nationally significant” cyberattacks every week. The NCSC handled a record 204 such incidents in a single year, which represents a sharp increase from just 89 the previous year. This escalation confirms that cyber threats now pose a fundamental risk to business survival and national economic resilience.

The NCSC categorised 18 of these incidents as ‘highly significant’, a near 50% increase year-on-year. These highly significant attacks threaten essential services and can cause widespread disruption. When government bodies raise the alarm about threats as significant as these, it’s time for brands to take action. Such devastating cyberthreats demand a proactive, rather than reactive, security posture from every organisation.

A Complex Web of Adversaries

UK businesses now face a diverse and skilled set of adversaries. The threat landscape ranges from global cybercrime gangs deploying ransomware to opportunist impersonators running phishing campaigns. These groups constantly upgrade their methods to exploit new vulnerabilities for financial gain.

The NCSC also highlights the persistent danger of state-backed national actors, who conduct highly sophisticated espionage and disruptive operations. Authorities linked a substantial proportion of last year’s cyberthreats to these Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups. This complex web of cyberattacks mean that companies must defend against both financially-motivated criminals and geopolitically-driven attackers at the same time.

The Rise of AI-Powered Fake Shops

Beyond direct system breaches, brands must combat a parallel threat to their revenue and reputation: AI-powered fake shops. These fraudulent sites use artificial intelligence to generate convincing product images and copy, creating a facade of legitimacy that easily deceives customers. This tactic allows criminals to scale their operations at an unprecedented rate.

As Lisa Deegan noted in our recent podcast, “The speed and scale at which these fake shops can now populate search results and social media is unprecedented, making manual detection and takedown a losing battle.” These fake shops not only steal sales but also damage brand reputation when customers receive counterfeit goods or nothing at all.

Fighting Cyberattacks with Cyber Threat Intelligence

To counter these advanced cyberattacks, businesses must adopt proactive Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). Comprehensive CTI analysis delivers actionable insights into active campaigns targeting their specific industry. This intelligence allows security teams to pre-emptively block malicious domains and phishing attempts before they cause damage.

For VIPs and executives, who are often prime targets for spear-phishing, this intelligence is crucial for personal digital protection. A robust CTI program safeguards both the individual and the sensitive corporate data they access, making the entire organization more resilient.

Implementing Comprehensive Digital Risk Protection

A robust defense requires a comprehensive Digital Risk Protection (DRP) strategy. This involves continuously monitoring a vast range of digital channels for threats, from fraudulent domains and meta ads to TikTok and app stores. Effective DRP solutions preemptively track cyberattacks by monitoring this malicious activity across the entire digital ecosystem.

The process involves discovering impersonating sites and fraudulent social media accounts, analysing their threat level, and executing swift takedowns. This continuous cycle of discovery and enforcement protects a company’s revenue, reputation, and customer relationships from external digital threats.

Retail Cyberattacks: The Case for Proactive Investment

The escalating cost of cyber incidents makes a compelling case for proactive investment in digital risk protection. The financial impact of a single attack, as seen with Marks & Spencer, can dwarf the cost of implementing a robust defense system. Proactive monitoring and takedown services act as a force multiplier for security teams.

This approach is a cost-effective strategy for safeguarding revenue and brand equity. By identifying and neutralizing threats early, companies prevent the far greater costs of operational downtime, customer compensation, and reputational repair. A proactive stance is no longer a luxury but a core component of modern business risk management.

Learn how your organization can build these defenses. Start with a free digital risk audit.

The post UK Retailers React as Cyberattack Slashes Profits appeared first on EBRAND.

Generative AI turns digital forgery into a production line. Tools that create lifelike images, polished copy, and complete storefronts are easy to use and cheap to run. A fraudster can now assemble a convincing brand lookalike in hours, complete with product galleries, “team” pages, and five-star testimonials that feel authentic to the average customer. 

As Lisa Deegan of EBRAND put it in a chat with EM360Tech analyst partner Richard Steinnon, “AI is a mirror, and humanity is scared of its own reflection. Criminals are using it to create fake sites, fake shops, fake personas, entire fake businesses, in hours.” The question is no longer whether fakes exist. It is whether your organisation can spot them and act before trust is lost. That’s exactly what we’ll cover here, but you can also get a free EBRAND audit to get a head start too.

Generative AI: Building the Perfect Digital Forgery

The tell-tale signs of a scam used to be obvious. Blurry photos. Clumsy spelling. Broken layouts. Today’s generative AI removes those cues. Product images look studio-grade. Founder headshots feel familiar. Review text lands with the rhythm of real shoppers. Even short-form video can appear credible at a glance. What once demanded time, budget, and basic design skill is now a few prompts away.

Accessibility is the accelerant. Open-source image models, template e-commerce themes, and AI copy tools lower the barrier to entry. Fraudsters clone logos, colour palettes, tone of voice, and site structures to build a recognisable brand shell. They seed the shell with synthetic content and fake reviews, then amplify it with targeted ads and influencer personas that only need to be plausible for a few hours. When the first storefront falls, another appears with a new domain, a new ad account, and the same playbook.

Speed and cost efficiency change the risk equation. A single “campaign” can spin up dozens of landing pages, route payments through disposable channels, and vanish before a traditional response team finishes its first evidence pack. Realism has inverted the signal. The more perfect it looks, the less you can trust it.

Why Legacy Brand Protection Fails

Manual monitoring cannot keep pace with Generative AI fraud that moves this quickly. Takedown one site and five more appear with small variations designed to evade exact-match checks. It is the whack-a-mole problem at scale.

Cloaking deepens the gap between what customers see and what brands or regulators can verify. A fake page can render only on mobile, only on iOS, or only within a narrow geo range, while showing a harmless splash page to every known crawler or compliance IP. By the time your team captures a live view, the storefront has rotated its look or redirected the link.

The core issue is scale, not sophistication. Fraud rings rely on automation to duplicate assets, test conversion paths, and flood ad inventories. Meanwhile, your team still triages screenshots, emails service providers, and waits. Trust erodes quickly. Once a customer is burned by a copycat linked to your name, the likelihood they try again with you can fall sharply. Revenue suffers, but so does the harder problem: consumer trust.

Fighting Generative AI with AI

The only sound response to an AI-accelerated threat is an AI-powered defence. This is not about another tool. It is a shift to outcomes: faster detection, smarter triage, and action that happens in hours, not days.

Proactive image and site monitoring

Move beyond exact-match comparisons. Use visual and structural analysis to catch Generative AI hallmarks that humans miss at speed. Uniform lighting across disparate scenes, uncanny texture repetition, or metadata that resets between near-identical images can indicate synthesis. On the web layer, look for DOM patterns and theme fingerprints that recur across supposedly unrelated storefronts. Treat paid media as part of the surface. Monitoring must include pre-ad, ad stream, and post-click paths to catch spoofed landing pages while they are still live.

Dynamic takedown and legal action

The damage window is short. Response needs to be procedural, not artisanal. Pre-prepare playbooks by channel with agreed evidence thresholds, pre-filled notices, and counsel-ready documentation. Automate collection of domain data, ad identifiers, payment artefacts, and hosting trails so each case file reaches the right party in minutes. When action requires escalation, a legally complete pack improves outcomes and compresses cycles with platforms, registrars, and payment providers.

Build an intelligence loop

Treat every takedown as a training event. Feed artefacts, indicators, and outcomes back into detection models to improve ranking and reduce false positives. Track re-offend rates and time-to-takedown by channel to prioritise where the next attack will likely land. The goal is prediction, not just reaction. When the system learns from each enforcement, it begins to meet automation with automation.

Rebuilding Trust in the Age of Generative AI Forgery

Technology alone will not restore confidence. Trust must be designed into your operating model.

First, accept that perception itself is part of the attack surface. So publish clear guidance on how customers can confirm that what they’re seeing is really you — across all domains, social handles, and contact routes. Make the verification journey fast. If it takes longer to check a site than to buy from it, users will not bother.

Second, align security, marketing, and legal on one truth set. Maintain a current register of official web properties, social accounts, marketplaces, and payment channels. Give customer-facing teams a single source of truth they can reference immediately when a query arrives. Fragmented answers are fertile ground for brand impersonation.

Third, invest in education that respects attention. Show customers how real promotions look when delivered by your brand. Explain how you handle returns, refunds, and support so they can spot deviations quickly. Small, repeated cues do more than one-off warnings. The aim is not to turn everyone into a fraud analyst. It is to equip them with simple checks that feel natural and quick.

Finally, measure trust like a first-class asset. Track time-to-detection, time-to-takedown, and reported scam volume alongside conversion and retention. When leaders see trust indicators on the same scorecard as revenue and satisfaction, trade-offs become clearer and investment decisions become faster.

Final Thoughts: Trust Is the New Attack Surface

Generative AI blurs the line between real and replica, which means you are defending more than assets. You are defending authenticity. The pattern is clear. AI makes deception scalable. Human-only detection cannot keep up. Protection that pairs intelligent monitoring with hours-level enforcement is now table stakes.

The path forward is practical. Monitor what customers actually see, not just what your tools can crawl. Make takedown and legal action a prepared workflow, not an artisan craft. Close the loop so every case sharpens the next detection. And keep customers close with clear verification cues that reduce friction rather than add to it.

In a world where imitation is automated, authenticity becomes your most valuable infrastructure. If you want to hear how practitioners are responding to the rise of AI-powered fraud, listen to our recent episode of The Security Strategist with EBRAND and EM360Tech for a grounded look at what works. If your team is shaping its next step on brand protection and digital risk, this is a conversation worth having now, not after the next fake storefront learns your name.

The post How Generative AI Spoofs Businesses Like Yours Online appeared first on EBRAND.

In the run-up to the Black Friday sales, we’re already seeing offers and deals across our feeds, promising everything from trending toys to luxury clothes at irresistible prices. It’s a huge global ecommerce event, and the shopping numbers are staggering. Last Black Friday (2024), U.S. online sales reached a record $10.8 billion, according to Adobe Analytics, a figure that represents more than 10% growth from the previous year. Other estimates suggest an even larger market, with Salesforce reporting $17.5 billion spent in the U.S. across all channels. Globally, the online sales figure for Black Friday hit a massive $74.4 billion.

However, this immense volume of online activity creates a paradise for scammers. Despite clear warnings from the FBI and other security bodies, ecommerce scams like counterfeits, fake ads, and rogue websites thrive this time of year. Fraudulent schemes successfully turn a celebratory shopping period into a season of stress and financial loss for millions. Here, we’ll explore the latest Black Friday scams to warn shoppers and equip brands with the tools needed to fight back. For businesses, you can also start with a free brand audit to expose Black Friday scams targeting your revenue.

Fake Websites and Phishing Surges During the Black Friday Sales

The digital threat landscape expands dramatically every year during the Black Friday sales. As reported by Forbes, scam websites surged by 89% over the previous year. This wave of fake sites primarily impersonates trusted brands, creating a minefield for consumers trying to find legitimate Black Friday deals.

In response, the FBI has issued specific guidance, urging shoppers to be exceptionally cautious. Their advice includes carefully checking URLs for legitimacy and security, researching unfamiliar websites, and being deeply wary of sellers who request payment via unusual methods like direct bank transfers or gift cards. The underlying principle remains clear: if a deal seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

Common Black Friday Scams Targeting Shoppers

Fake Order Confirmations and Delivery Notifications
Scammers exploit the high volume of online orders during the Black Friday Sales by sending fake confirmation emails for items the recipient never purchased. These emails often contain links or attachments designed to steal login credentials or install malware. Similarly, fake delivery notifications from services like UPS, DHL, or FedEx claim a package is waiting and request financial information to “finalize” delivery. Legitimate delivery services will never ask for payment details in this manner.

Coupon and Fake Website Scams
Fraudsters create fake coupons and vouchers for high-demand products, distributing them via email and social media. These offers lead to counterfeit websites designed to harvest personal and payment information. Always verify a website’s security by ensuring the URL starts with “https://” and displays a padlock icon.

Gift Card and Unusual Payment Method Scams
A major red flag is any seller that insists on payment via gift cards or cryptocurrency. The FBI explicitly warns against this, as these payment methods are nearly impossible to trace or refund. Scammers will ask for the gift card number and PIN, promptly draining the funds and leaving the buyer with nothing.

Spoofed Social Media Listings and Fake Reviews
Social media platforms are a hotbed for fraudulent sellers who post listings for high-demand items at unrealistically low prices, capitalizing on the Black Friday sales. These scams are amplified by fake reviews, often generated by bots, which create a false sense of legitimacy and trust. Shoppers should be skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true and stick to verified seller accounts.

How Brands Can Fight Back: Protecting Revenue and Reputation

For businesses, the proliferation of scams during peak shopping seasons represents a direct attack on revenue and brand integrity. Proactive monitoring and enforcement are essential to safeguard both.

Social Media Monitoring and Malicious Ad Takedowns
Scammers increasingly use paid social media ads to promote fake profiles and counterfeit shops. These malicious ads borrow trust from the platform to appear legitimate, directing users to fraudulent sites that steal data and money. A robust social media monitoring strategy scans platforms like Meta Ads and Google Ads for impersonations. By detecting and issuing takedowns for these infringements, brands protect their intellectual property online. They also prevent customers from being victimized in their name.

Combating AI-Powered Fake Shops
The threat has evolved with technology. Criminals now use AI to generate hundreds of sophisticated fake ecommerce shops at scale, particularly during online shopping surges like the Black Friday sales. These sites feature AI-written product descriptions and stolen images, making them nearly indistinguishable from legitimate brand storefronts. They are promoted through a barrage of fake ads and target customers across multiple channels, including deceptive domains and even fraudulent mobile apps in official stores. Our Lisa Deegan covers exactly that in a recent video podcast, so you can find out more right here.

Fighting this requires an equally sophisticated, technology-powered defense. A comprehensive Digital Risk Protection (DRP) service provides continuous, AI-powered monitoring across the clear, deep, and dark web. This proactive surveillance identifies new infringements as soon as they appear. Once the system detects a fraudulent operation, you can deploy a full arsenal of tools to take it down. Enjoy a streamlined, legally-backed takedown process remove rogue websites from domain registrars, social media platforms, and app stores. Eliminating infringements safegaurds your ecommerce revenue, setting a precedent for cybercriminals and opportunist scammers.

Secure Your Black Friday Revenue

The surge in Black Friday sales will always attract malicious actors looking to exploit both consumer excitement and brand visibility. The scams are becoming more automated, more convincing, and more widespread. For organizations, a passive approach is no longer sufficient.

Protecting your digital landscape requires proactive measures. Online brand protection and digital risk protection services safeguard your revenue by patrolling for impersonations, counterfeit sites, and malicious ads, ensuring that customers connect with your genuine brand and not a scam.

Prepare your organization for the holiday season. Secure your revenue and protect your customers by understanding your specific risk level. Get a free brand audit to identify and expose the Black Friday scams targeting your business.

The post Black Friday sales or scams? Millions stung by fake websites appeared first on EBRAND.

Even the biggest brands in the world miss opportunities when it comes to domains, even companies like Google and McDonald’s. As the internet expands, we’ve all got to be ready for the next digital land grab. ICANN’s next round of New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) is set to go live in April 2026, so a surge of applications will flood the system. For established brands, this presents a critical vulnerability: The risk is that a third party applies for and secures a gTLD that is identical or confusingly similar to your valuable trademark. In this high-stakes environment, brands must develop an objection handling strategy, to meet infringements as soon as they arise. Your ability to effectively contest an infringing application can determine whether you control your brand’s destiny online or lose it to a rival actor. 

Here, we’ll navigate the upcoming gTLD cycle, so you’re prepared for any eventuality. This guide delves into the specifics of the Legal Rights Objection (LRO), your primary mechanism for objection handling. We will also clarify the critical distinction between Community and Brand applications, to lay the foundations for your objection strategy. The WIPO are now a major player in ICANN’s processes so we’ll clarify their role, and explain what their involvement means for your brand. Finally, we will explore the proactive side of the equation, securing your own .BRAND domain. You can also learn more about the strategic benefits of a .BRAND and how to leverage it, right here.

Understanding Objections: The Core of Objection Handling

If a third party applies for a gTLD string that conflicts with your registered trademark, you do not have to stand by and let it happen. All sensible brands implement a monitoring system around their trademarks for infringing registrations, so why not use a similar strategy for domains, another crucially important asset for your ecommerce? ICANN’s New gTLD Program includes a defense mechanism known as the Legal Rights Objection (LRO). This pre-delegation objection process forms the basis of ICANN’s formal objection handling. It allows you to challenge the application before the new domain extension is approved and goes live. This proactive measure forms the most cost-effective and strategic approach to protecting your IP from DotBrand infringements. Beyond that, you can also try to limit possible negative effects after the DotBrand in question has been launched. 

Filing a successful LRO requires you to demonstrate that the potential use of the applied-for gTLD by the applicant would be likely to infringe upon your established legal rights. An independent panel will evaluate the objection based on several factors. These factors include the strength and recognition of your trademark, whether the applicant has any legitimate rights or affiliation with the string, the applicant’s intent in applying for the gTLD, and whether the proposed gTLD would impair the distinctiveness or reputation of your brand. Nothing is set in stone, but there are serious talks about having the application round on a permanent basis, so it’s worth establishing your strategies before the landscape develops. A well-documented objection, backed by robust evidence of your trademark’s reach and goodwill, forms the bedrock of a successful objection handling strategy against an infringing application. 

Strategic Objection Handling: Community vs. Brand Applications

Effective objection handling means understanding the distinction between a Community-based application and a Standard application for gTLDs. This distinction fundamentally shapes the way that you’ll present your arguments. 

A Community Application is filed by an organization representing a clearly delineated group or sector, with social or commercial interests. The applicant must provide evidence for the gTLD’s community support, and prove that gTLD benefits that specific group. Examples from the previous round include .BANK, for the banking community, and .ECO for green and environmentalist movements. These applications receive priority from ICANN, and enjoyed a smooth registration process. If two entities apply for the same string, a community application will prevail over a standard application, provided it meets all the criteria. 

On the other hand, commercial entities file Standard or Brand Applications for a string that represents its brand, such as .APPLE or .GOOGLE. These cases require no evidence for representing or benefitting the broader community. With standard, .BRAND domains, organizations establish them to control a digital namespace and expand the company’s identity online. 

Your approach to objection handling must adapt to each type of application, now that you know the difference. If you are a brand and an organization applies for your brand name as a community gTLD, your objection would focus on the lack of a legitimate community nexus and the resulting consumer confusion. On the other hand, if another commercial entity applies for your brand name, your LRO argument centers squarely on trademark infringement and the absence of the applicant’s rights to the string. 

The Role of WIPO in Objection Handling: The Exclusive Arbiter

ICANN appointed the WIPO as the exclusive provider for resolving disputes their upcoming round of gTLD applications. As a UN agency, WIPO, or the World Intellectual Property Organization, work to establish an international IP system, making them the choice partner for ICANN’s requirements. 

ICANN selected WIPO due to its unparalleled expertise and two-decade-long track record in resolving domain name disputes through the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP). WIPO maintains the institutional knowledge, the global panel of neutral legal experts, and the established procedures to handle the complex, high-stakes nature of gTLD objections fairly and efficiently. For brands, this means that any LRO you file will be adjudicated by a WIPO-appointed panel with deep experience in international trademark law and domain name conflicts. This provides a significant level of trust and predictability in the objection handling process. As WIPO itself states, it will publish detailed guidelines and resources as the next application round finalizes, making it essential for brands to monitor their updates closely. 

The .BRAND Imperative

Beyond playing defense, the new gTLD round is a call to action for brand offense. Securing your own .BRAND domain is a powerful move that renders defensive objection handling for that string unnecessary. In the last round, forward-thinking companies, from international retail chains to world-renowned auto firms, successfully navigated the application process. The benefits they unlocked are substantial. 

A .BRAND domain creates a secure and controlled digital ecosystem. It enhances brand authenticity, as every website under your .BRAND, from news.brand to careers.brand, is instantly verified and trusted by customers. These digital assets deliver powerful new marketing opportunities, allowing for concise, memorable URLs for specific campaigns. They also provide a definitive answer to cybersquatting at the top-level, eliminating the risk of yourbrand.sucks or other defensive registrations at the second level. 

However, the pioneers also revealed a common pitfall: a lack of imagination and follow-through. Some brands invested heavily in acquiring their .BRAND but failed to integrate it into their core digital strategy. The result was an underutilized asset, with the domain acting as a mere redirect to the existing .com site or, worse, lying completely dormant. The drawback is not in the concept of a .BRAND, but in the failure to leverage it. A .BRAND is not just a new address. It establishes a platform for innovation, enabling new technological opportunities like blockchain-based verification, personalized web spaces for customers, and a streamlined, secure internal network. As we discuss here, organizations can also use these assets as new and evolving revenue streams, which is worth considering too. 

Conclusions: Building Your gTLD Strategy

The upcoming ICANN new gTLD round presents a pivotal moment for brand owners. The landscape requires a dual strategy: You should prepare a vigilant defense of your trademarks through the WIPO-administered Legal Rights Objection process. Beyond that, an educated decision on whether to claim your own DotBrand domain reduces the risks associated to missed opportunities and challenges. The time to prepare your objection handling protocols is now, long before the anticipated application window in the second quarter of 2026. 

Do not let your brand become a case study in missed opportunity or costly dispute resolution. A unique DotBrand domain can be more than a web extension. It’s a gateway to plenty of digital opportunities, from brand-defining marketing campaigns to innovative blockchain capabilities. Of course, it’s not for everyone, but it’s worth exploring, so you can make a decision based on diligence and facts. 

Our team at EBRAND is expert in navigating the complexities of the ICANN application process. We provide comprehensive support, from developing a robust benefit analysis to the strategy to securing and strategically implementing your .BRAND. We help you not only to acquire your digital asset but to build a visionary plan for its use. Contact us below to schedule a consultation and discover how you can actively define your brand’s future on the internet. 

The post Objection Handling: Fighting Unwanted .BRAND gTLDs appeared first on EBRAND.

Online security relies on cryptographic protocols, and while most websites claim to use an SSL certificate, it’s actually TLS that does the work. If your brand relies on secure communication, your team must know the difference between SSL and TLS as a top priority.

To help you safeguard your brand’s online presence, we at EBRAND offer a free brand audit that maps your digital footprint and flags impersonation or phishing threats.

The Evolution from SSL to TLS

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol was originally developed to encrypt communication between web browsers and servers. SSL 2.0, released in 1995, was the first widely used version, but it contained significant vulnerabilities. Version 3.0 addressed many of these issues, but was eventually found to be insecure as well. Both SSL 2.0 and 3.0 are now deprecated.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) was introduced as the successor to SSL. TLS 1.0, released in 1999, retained the core architecture of SSL but improved its encryption capabilities. TLS 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 have continued to refine the protocol, making it faster, more secure, and more adaptable to modern cryptographic requirements. Today, it is the modern standard for encrypted communication.

Technical Differences

While TLS and SSL are both cryptographic protocols that encrypt data between a server and a web browser, their technical foundations differ significantly. TLS supports newer, more secure encryption algorithms, including AEAD ciphers and modern elliptic curve cryptography. SSL relies on outdated algorithms that no longer meet today’s security standards.

Another major difference between TLS and SSL lies in the handshake process. The SSL handshake is slower, less flexible, and more vulnerable to downgrade attacks. TLS uses a more efficient handshake process, especially from version 1.2 onwards, supporting features such as forward secrecy and session resumption. TLS also provides stronger authentication methods and certificate validation mechanisms.

Both protocols use digital certificates issued by certificate authorities to authenticate the server and establish a secure connection. However, TLS certificates benefit from better algorithm support, better cipher suite negotiation, and more secure key exchange methods.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison to summarize the core differences between SSL and TLS:

Why the Term ‘SSL Certificate’ Is Still Used

Even though TLS is the protocol in use today, the term “SSL certificate” remains widely used in marketing and technical documentation. This leads to confusion for many users who assume they are installing an SSL certificate that uses the SSL protocol.

In reality, when you install a Secure Sockets Layer certificate today, whether a wildcard or a domain-specific certificate, it’s TLS that handles the secure communication. The certificate still performs the same function: it authenticates the server and enables encryption, but under the TLS protocol. Most SSL certificates and TLS certificates are essentially the same in function, but “SSL” persists as a legacy naming convention.

How SSL and TLS Work in Practice

Both SSL and TLS protocols enable secure connections using a multi-step process that involves server authentication, encryption setup, and secure data transmission. During the handshake process, the server presents its digital certificate to the client, which is verified using the public key infrastructure and trusted certificate authorities.

If authentication is successful, a shared session key is negotiated using a cryptographic algorithm, which then encrypts all communication between the client and the server. While the SSL handshake used to perform this role, the TLS handshake process has replaced it in modern secure communication.

TLS 1.2 and 1.3 also support newer cryptographic algorithms and remove outdated features that made earlier SSL versions vulnerable. TLS is used in HTTPS-based secure communication, email encryption, and other protocols, while SSL is no longer considered safe for any type of transmission.

Security and Compatibility: SSL Deprecation vs TLS Adoption

SSL is now considered obsolete. SSL 2.0 and 3.0 are officially deprecated, and most major web browsers and servers have disabled support for them. TLS 1.0 and 1.1 were also formally deprecated, but some legacy systems still support them. The recommended standards are TLS 1.2 and 1.3, which offer better encryption, shorter handshakes, and improved security.

TLS is the updated version of SSL in every functional sense. It supports modern authentication, robust encryption, and flexible protocol negotiation. Today’s secure certificates work over the TLS protocol by default. In fact, the SSL certificates that EBRAND issues with our clients all come with TLS encryption by default. Ultimately, TLS is the protocol that enables HTTPS encryption across the web.

Modern TLS Certificates and Certificate Management

Although the term “SSL certificate” still appears in dashboards, control panels, and product names, all certificates in use today rely on TLS. Whether you use a standard or wildcard Secure Sockets Layer certificate, the underlying encryption occurs via the TLS protocol.

Certificate management involves acquiring a certificate from a trusted certificate authority, installing it on your server, and ensuring timely renewals, particularly as industry standards regarding SSL certificate lifespans evolve. Implementing TLS also means staying current with the latest TLS version and disabling insecure versions of SSL or TLS.

When you install an SSL certificate today, you’re really implementing TLS encryption, because TLS is the cryptographic protocol that encrypts data, authenticates the server, and ensures secure communication.

Conclusion

The key differences between TLS and SSL lie in security, protocol design, and long-term viability. While SSL once set the standard for encrypted connections, its vulnerabilities led to deprecation. Today, its successor is not just more secure, but actively maintained and widely supported.

Despite the continued use of the term “SSL certificate,” it’s the newer protocol that handles encrypted communication across the web. If your systems still rely on outdated technology or ambiguous configurations, upgrading to the latest version is critical. Legacy methods no longer offer adequate protection; modern certificate deployment should be built entirely on current, secure protocols.

The post TLS vs SSL Certificates – How Are They Different appeared first on EBRAND.