Sophisticated AI tools bombard consumers with convincing deceptions, from fake social media ads to lookalike ecommerce shops. For Chief Information Security Officers and Heads of Brand Protection, these automated infringements launch a terrifying new frontier of digital risk, directly attacking brand identity, eroding customer trust, and stealing revenue.

This escalating threat demands a closer look at AI-driven infringements. To help your organization navigate this new reality and combat the surge of sophisticated scams, we recently gathered our experts to dissect the trend. Our podcast with EM360Tech delivers vital takeaways around the kinds of modern defenses you need to fight back. 

AI Fake Shops Accelerate Brand Infringements 

Malicious actors now use AI to generate hundreds of sophisticated fake shops, a hydra-headed problem for brand protection teams. These fraudulent storefronts feature AI-written product descriptions and stolen images, making them nearly indistinguishable from a brand’s legitimate e-commerce presence. Criminals promote these infringements through a barrage of fake ads, which spoof official brand accounts and appear directly in the social media feeds of targeted customers. One click on a mobile phone initiates the scam, harvesting payment details and personal data with devastating efficiency. 

This automated approach allows infringements to scale at a rate that overwhelms manual monitoring processes. Where teams once dealt with a handful of copycat sites, they now face waves of AI-generated storefronts that launch simultaneously. The moment your team shuts down one fraudulent operation, two more can instantly appear, creating a relentless and exhausting battle for your brand’s digital integrity. 

Multichannel Infringements Attack Your Customers Everywhere 

These modern infringements do not confine themselves to a single platform. Criminals execute multichannel attacks that target customers across the entire digital ecosystem. They register countless deceptive domains that closely mimic your official brand URLs, hoping to catch mistyped searches or confused shoppers. On social media, they create polished but entirely fake profiles to run malicious ad campaigns and interact directly with your customer base, further legitimizing their scam. 

The assault extends into official app stores, where bad actors upload fraudulent applications bearing your logo and brand name. These apps can steal login credentials, install malware, or process fake orders. This omnipresent strategy means that infringements can reach a customer whether they are browsing the web, scrolling social media, or searching for new software, creating a seamless and inescapable illusion of your brand’s presence. 

Sophisticated Infringements Actively Evade Detection 

Today’s infringements employ advanced evasion techniques to hide from brand protection teams and extend their fraudulent lifespan. Criminals use cloaked domains that show different content to different visitors; a brand protection agent or a search engine crawler might see a harmless error page, while a targeted customer sees a fully operational fake shop. This cloaking technique effectively makes the infringements invisible to many automated scanning tools. 

Furthermore, attackers deploy geofencing to make their infringements only visible in specific countries or cities, often outside your core monitoring regions. They also use device-specific targeting, serving their fake ads and storefronts only to users on mobile phones, which are often the primary device for casual shopping. These deliberate evasion tactics ensure that infringements fly under the radar, operating in the digital shadows for weeks or months, causing maximum damage to your brand and your customers. 

Rampant Infringements Target High-Value Industries 

No sector is immune, but AI-powered infringements disproportionately attack industries with high-value products and sensitive customer data. The fashion and luxury goods sector faces constant assault from fake shops selling counterfeit handbags, watches, and apparel. The automotive industry battles infringements offering fake parts, unauthorized accessories, and fraudulent vehicle sales that target a high-intent, high-spending audience. 

Criminals also heavily target the pharmaceutical and healthcare space, where fake online pharmacies sell everything from unapproved medications to counterfeit wellness products, posing a direct threat to consumer health. Perhaps most alarmingly, infringements now aggressively spoof service providers like investment firms and banks. These scams create fake portals to steal financial login information and personal data, leading to devastating direct financial losses for victims and catastrophic reputational damage for the institutions they impersonate. 

Fighting Scams and Impersonations: A Tech-Enabled Defense 

Organizations must combat these automated infringements with an equally sophisticated, technology-powered defense strategy. A robust Digital Risk Protection (DRP) service provides the foundation, offering continuous, AI-powered monitoring across the entire digital surface, including the clear, deep, and dark web. This proactive surveillance identifies new infringements as soon as they appear, often before they gain significant traffic. 

Mention OBP TOO

Advanced detection platforms analyze millions of data points. This complex analysis allows us to spot suspicious patterns, fake domains, and spoofed social profiles with high accuracy. Once identified, a streamlined and legally-backed takedown process is critical. Expert teams can execute rapid removals from domain registrars, social media platforms, and app stores, systematically dismantling the criminal infrastructure and reducing the average lifespan of each infringement. 

Proactive Measures Help Thwart Infringements 

While technology forms your main defensive wall against malcious cyberattacks, human vigilance plays a fundamental role against infringements too. Brands should work with expert partners and with their customers, highlighting basic tips alongside comprehensive solutions. Even something as simple as checking URLs for subtle misspellings could save hundreds of Euros, and countless hours of hard work.

In general, organizations must adopt the «think before you click» mindset. A single employee clicking a malicious link in a spoofed brand enforcement email could compromise your entire corporate network. Combining continuous technological monitoring with informed and cautious behavior creates a powerful, multi-layered defense. Future-proof defenses like these make it significantly harder for infringements to succeed. 

What’s Next: Reinforcing Your Strategy

AI-powered infringements represent a clear and present danger to your organization. However, a proactive and sophisticated defense can protect your brand’s integrity and your customers’ trust. This new era of automated scams demands that we move beyond reactive measures and adopt the advanced tools and strategies needed to fight back effectively. 

To dive deeper into this critical issue, you can find our podcast in full. Titled «Are Fake AI Shops the New Brand Protection Crisis?» it includes detailed deliverables from EBRAND’s Lisa Deegan. We break down the threat landscape and provide a clear roadmap for securing your brand’s future. 

Ready to see your specific risk level? Get a free audit here to identify your most critical exposures. 

The post Talking AI Infringements: A New EBRAND Podcast appeared first on EBRAND.

In this guide, we’re breaking down the trends, and pulling straightforward takeaways for businesses. Let’s explore the facts behind the threats, and create a practical plan to keep your business safe. Covering topics like Online Brand Protection (OBP) and Digital Risk Protection (DRP), we’ll outline an effective digital defence strategy, so let’s get into it. 

The Rising Tide of Cyber Threats 

Cybercrime’s financial impact continues to grow at an alarming rate, with projections showing it will cost the global economy £10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Attackers exploit vulnerabilities across all business functions, from core IT systems to brand reputation. We’ve seen hospitals paralyzed by ransomware attacks that disrupt critical patient care, while retailers and financial institutions battle sophisticated impersonation scams that erode customer trust and divert revenue. These aren’t hypothetical scenarios – they’re daily occurrences in today’s threat landscape. 

The financial consequences of cyber incidents reach unprecedented levels with each new attack. Recent data reveals that organisations now require an average of 258 days to identify and contain a breach, with each incident costing a record £4.88 million on average. In the UK alone, more than half of all businesses reported experiencing at least one cyberattack in the past five years, resulting in estimated losses of £44 billion in revenue. These figures demonstrate the cyber threat security revolution, as attack go from technical nuisances to existential business risks demanding executive-level attention. 

Medium and large companies? Medium and large risks

Cybercriminals go where the money is—and that means targeting medium and large businesses. These companies typically invest more in cyber threat security and brand protection, but they also have more to lose. Higher revenues come with higher stakes. 

According to the UK government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, 67% of medium businesses and 74% of large businesses reported cyber breaches or attacks—rates that remain stubbornly high and unchanged from 2024. In contrast, only 35% of micro-businesses faced the same threats, and that number continues to drop. Phishing leads the pack as the most common attack type for medium and large businesses, followed closely by impersonation scams. On average, each cyber breach costs large businesses tens of thousands on average with each attack. 

That’s where Online Brand Protection comes in. As a comprehensive solution, it helps medium and large organisations defend against counterfeiters, fraudsters, and domain squatters by safeguarding your brand’s digital identity. Digital Risk Protection adds another layer of defence—tracking phishing campaigns, leaked credentials, and executive impersonation across dark web forums, social platforms, and rogue websites. 

Together, these tools form a smarter, more proactive digital strategy—keeping your brand and revenue safer than relying on traditional cybersecurity alone. 

Cyber Threat Security in the AI Boom

Emerging technologies like AI and IoT present both opportunities and new vulnerabilities. Forward-looking organisations now practice «premortem» security planning, anticipating potential threats before deploying new technologies. This proactive approach requires integrating cybersecurity considerations across all business units – from marketing to HR to operations – rather than treating it as solely an IT responsibility. In today’s environment, effective security demands organisation-wide engagement and executive leadership. 

While cybercrime operates across international borders, effective defence begins at the organisational level. Though initiatives like Interpol’s cybercrime units and national cybersecurity programs help establish global standards, individual businesses must take primary responsibility for their protection. Companies that prioritise comprehensive cyber threat security strategies often discover an unexpected benefit – robust cybersecurity has become a competitive differentiator that builds trust with customers and partners. 

The New Security Imperative 

The most resilient organisations move beyond reactive security postures. They now maintain complete visibility of their digital footprint, monitor for threats in real-time, and take proactive measures to disrupt attackers before they can execute their plans. These companies understand that brand protection and cybersecurity must work in concert, and they recognise security investments as business enablers rather than just cost centres. 

In our interconnected digital economy, comprehensive protection of brand assets and digital infrastructure has become fundamental to business continuity. OBP and DRP solutions are no longer optional enhancements – they’re critical components of any modern business strategy. Organisations that fail to prioritise these protections risk more than just data breaches; they jeopardise customer trust, brand reputation, and ultimately, their viability in the marketplace. 

Take the First Step Towards Comprehensive Cyber Threat Security 

Discover your organisation’s exposure to digital threats with our Free Threat Exposure Audit. We’ll scan the surface web, social media, and dark web channels to identify potential risks targeting your business. 

Let’s discuss how integrated Digital Risk Protection and Online Brand Protection solutions can safeguard your organisation before attackers strike with proactive cyber threat security. Now’s the time to act, before the next security breach makes headlines.  

The post How to build proactive cyber threat security for my business  appeared first on EBRAND.

Here, we’re unpacking the emerging digital threats facing UK industry leaders with a seasoned expert. Lisa Deegan, with over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity, IP protection, and digital brand management, has been a trusted advisor to global brands. She’s worked alongside C-Suite executives to define and execute comprehensive threat intelligence (CTI) strategies, helping businesses stay ahead of evolving risks.

Her in-depth knowledge of digital threats, especially in the UK and European markets, makes her a valuable asset to EBRAND and its clients. Drawing from this expertise, we’ll provide concrete action points to secure your organization and prepare your team for the next wave of phishing attacks and cybersecurity challenges.

In Conversation with Lisa Deegan 

To welcome Lisa to EBRAND, we sat down with her to explore her professional journey, gain her insights into the future of cybersecurity, digital risk, and brand protection, and uncover her strategies for helping UK and Ireland businesses stay resilient in an increasingly challenging threat landscape.

Q: Hi Lisa, can you introduce yourself to our readers? 

Lisa: I’m delighted to join EBRAND as the Senior Director, UK and International Growth. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on helping organizations outsmart emerging threats through strategic risk management and innovative digital protection. EBRAND’s forward-thinking approach and dedication to safeguarding brands align perfectly with my passion for tackling complex cybersecurity challenges. I’m excited to contribute to their mission and help businesses stay resilient in an increasingly dynamic threat landscape. 

Q: What brought you to EBRAND? 

Lisa: The decision to join EBRAND was an easy one. The company’s reputation for innovation, its strong commitment to clients, and its position as a thought leader in Digital Risk and Online Brand Protection made it an irresistible opportunity. I’m passionate about solving complex challenges, and EBRAND’s solutions provide exactly the tools needed to address these issues effectively.  

Q: What trends do you see in the industry, as cybercriminals cyberattack UK brands? 

Lisa: Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, and their tactics rapidly evolve, forcing brands to strengthen their defenses. Phishing remains one of the most common threats, targeting businesses daily with bulk attacks and identity fraud, while domain hijacking continues to challenge organizations, driving the adoption of DNSSEC as a critical countermeasure. Additionally, ransomware attacks have escalated, with criminals not only encrypting data but also threatening to leak sensitive information or target customers and partners. For example, in 2024, the ransomware attack on Synnovis, an NHS laboratory services provider, leaked 400GB of sensitive patient data, costing the company £32.7 million and forcing hospitals to cancel thousands of operations.

Beyond individual incidents, broader trends reshape the cybersecurity landscape. Cybersecurity and brand protection increasingly merge, as phishing scams and fake websites threaten both systems and corporate reputations. Digital risk protection becomes more and more essential, and companies monitor social media, apps, and other digital assets to proactively address threats like impersonation and data leaks. AI also plays a dual role: while attackers use it to automate sophisticated scams, organizations are deploying AI-powered tools to detect anomalies, predict attacks, and strengthen their defenses.

Looking at the broader picture, regulatory changes adding another layer of complexity to the landscape. Governments tighten cybersecurity and data protection laws, such as GDPR updates and AI-focused regulations, requiring businesses to stay agile and compliant. Meanwhile, the adoption of zero-trust models—where every access request is verified—has become the new standard for safeguarding sensitive systems. These trends highlight the need for organizations to act quickly, adapt to emerging risks, and invest in proactive strategies to remain resilient in an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Q: What do you expect to see next in the field? 

Lisa: AI-driven threats constantly increase their sophistication, making advanced Digital Risk Protection solutions essential for detecting and mitigating risks in real time. Artificial Intelligence takes spear phishing attacks and identity frauds to the next level with fluency, believability, sophistication, and frequency. Additionally, cross-border collaboration is growing in importance, as digital threats often transcend national boundaries. Organizations must adopt proactive strategies, such as integrating AI-powered tools and sharing intelligence across global networks, to remain secure and competitive in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Q: As scammers cyberattack UK brands, how can CISOs fight back? 

CISOs can fight back by implementing a comprehensive digital risk protection strategy that proactively targets threats across multiple channels while recognizing the growing convergence of cybersecurity and brand protection. Advanced AI-powered tools, leveraging machine learning, can monitor digital touchpoints like social media, ads, and websites to detect phishing attempts, fake profiles, and counterfeit websites in real time. These tools safeguard both a company’s systems and its reputation, addressing the overlap between security threats and brand impersonation.

Phishing remains a major tactic for cybercriminals, and AI-driven systems can flag suspicious activity before it reaches employees or customers, ensuring critical information stays secure. Conducting regular digital audits also helps identify vulnerabilities across the brand’s online presence and infrastructure, providing a holistic view of risks.

By adopting a multi-channel approach that combines smart digital risk protection tools, threat hunting, and ongoing assessments, CISOs can bridge the gap between cybersecurity and brand protection, staying ahead of scammers and defending their organizations against evolving cyberattacks. 

Meet Lisa and explore the latest cyberattack UK trends 

Exploring these issues online is one thing, but important conversations also happen face to face. We’re hitting the road this year, so let’s talk it out in person. Lisa and the team are heading to the Cybersecurity and Cloud Expo at Olympia London on February 5th and 6th. If you already have a TechEx account, you can book in a meeting with Lisa in the event’s portal, and if not, just reach out to her directly via email.

To get started on protecting your organization from scams and cyberattacks, get a snapshot of your threat landscape with a free digital risk audit. Let’s get proactive, and tackle cyber scams before they strike.

The post Scammers Cyberattack UK Brands: Fighting Back with Lisa Deegan  appeared first on EBRAND.