Social Media Cybersquatting: When your brand is threatened...

Created by Anna Gould (EDUCAUSE) on October 22, 2009

ComputerWorld magazine has an interesting article this week (October 19 edition) regarding how social networks can pose a potential threat to an organization or institution's name. Quoting James Carnall of the security monitoring firm Cyveillance, social media cybersquatting is where domain name cybersquatting was ten years ago. And while institutions may contact YouTube or Facebook to complain and have counterfeit materials removed, just keeping up with the latest fraudulence can be an overwhelming task.

As businesses and organizations increasingly take to social networking to promote their products, there is the potential for complications. In addition to people falsely claiming to represent others, social networking also leaves the door open for anonymous bad actors. As the chief marketing officer for Kodak says, competitors can anonymously attack his company and engage customers on Twitter and blog sites. Further, your own employees can do damage to your reputation. In a Deloitte survey taken in April, almost 75% of employees agreed it would be easy to damage a company's reputation with social media.

With a diversity of threats, the article warns that you should not "silo" your responses to the IT, legal, and marketing departments. Rather, all three should work together on a unified strategy, while the organization maintains vigilance. And as one chief marketing officer says, IT should not be afraid to stop or discourage quick web site changes that might threaten brand security.

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		Social Media Cybersquatting: When your brand is threatened... Created by Anna Gould (EDUCAUSE) on October 22, 2009 ComputerWorld magazine has an interesting article this week (October 19 edition) regarding how social networks can pose a potential threat to an organization or institution's name. Quoting James Carnall of the security monitoring firm Cyveillance, social media cybersquatting is where domain name cybersquatting was ten years ago. And while institutions may contact YouTube or Facebook to complain and have counterfeit materials removed, just keeping up with the latest fraudulence can be an overwhelming task. As businesses and organizations increasingly take to social networking to promote their products, there is the potential for complications. In addition to people falsely claiming to represent others, social networking also leaves the door open for anonymous bad actors. As the chief marketing officer for Kodak says, competitors can anonymously attack his company and engage customers on Twitter and blog sites. Further, your own employees can do damage to your reputation. In a Deloitte survey taken in April, almost 75% of employees agreed it would be easy to damage a company's reputation with social media. With a diversity of threats, the article warns that you should not "silo" your responses to the IT, legal, and marketing departments. Rather, all three should work together on a unified strategy, while the organization maintains vigilance. And as one chief marketing officer says, IT should not be afraid to stop or discourage quick web site changes that might threaten brand security. Washington Update \| Cybersecurity \| Cybersquatting \| Social Media \| Social Networking Anna's blog Login or register to post comments 32 reads
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