Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of MarkMonitor underscores the increasing threat to brands from digital piracy. With Internet commerce accounting for more than 20% of GDP growth in mature countries, piracy and counterfeiting are costing companies more than $600 billion per year.

The San Francisco-based MarkMonitor uses a SaaS delivery model, providing technology and expertise to protect revenue and reputation for more than half of Fortune 100 businesses.Continue reading...

The phrase "brandjacking" has been lately been used to criticize social media plays, like Brands in Public, that seek payments for blocking negative feedback. But a genuinely criminal wave of brandjacking—ju-jitsulike phishing scams that use a brand's own recognition and trustworthiness against it—poses a growing threat to many brands.

Trusted brands—from PayPal to Amazon—are increasingly being leveraged by criminals to trick consumers into handing over sensitive personal information. MarkMonitor's recent Brandjacking Index revealed that phishing attacks hit a record high in the second quarter of 2009, with unique attacks numbering 151,000.Continue reading...