Business Leaders Must Look to Web Intelligence to Combat Cyber Attacks

Posted on 7th July 2023

Web intelligence provider Oxylabs helps its clients address growing cases of online fraud with proactive measures to safeguard businesses and mitigate risks.

The threat of online fraud is on the rise, with counterfeited merchandise sales, data breaches, and email phishing attempts posing significant risks to businesses. Fortunately, companies now have effective strategies at their disposal to combat fraudulent activities and prevent such crimes from occurring. Andrius Palionis, VP of Enterprise Solutions at Oxylabs, has identified some of the most common types of online fraud and shares solutions to tackle these threats head-on.

Counterfeit product sales and intellectual property theft

According to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the sale of illegally branded goods now represents a staggering 3.3% of global trade. Palionis stresses that fighting against this issue is crucial, given that it is now recognised as the largest criminal enterprise in the world, estimated to generate $1.7-4.5 trillion annually.

“Finding illegitimate sellers in the vast expanse of the internet is a daunting task. To address this, custom web crawling solutions can be employed to scan marketplaces for suspicious listings, allowing companies to gather evidence and take appropriate legal actions. The use of both residential and datacentre proxies can maximise success and minimise costs.”

Email fraud

Email fraud, particularly the use of deceptive emails impersonating managers to request fund transfers, has already caused significant financial losses. The US FBI reported that over a three-year period, this type of fraud led to $2.3 billion in damages.

Palionis recommends a two-pronged approach: “Firstly, educating employees about email fraud and fostering awareness is imperative. Secondly, implementing email protection protocols can shield businesses from phishing attacks. These protocols employ internal scrapers to scan incoming and outgoing emails for phishing attempts, verify links, and monitor attachments, enhancing protection against coordinated attacks targeted at entire companies.

Data breaches

Data breaches that expose sensitive information can be devastating. Besides costing substantial amounts of money, they have the potential to irreversibly harm a company’s reputation and lead to permanent loss of business. A recent IBM report revealed that the average total cost of a data breach in the US rose to a record high of $9.44 million in 2021.

“To lessen the impact of data breaches, cybersecurity companies can utilise web crawlers to monitor suspicious websites, detect leaks, and issue timely alerts. Residential proxies provide a diverse range of IP addresses, enabling crawlers to access critical data while evading detection. In cases where geo-location restrictions are absent, datacentre proxies can be used. A combination of both types of proxies makes for an efficient and cost-effective solution.”

Palionis concludes, “Staying ahead of online fraud is certainly possible but it requires several proactive measures. Leveraging advanced data scraping technologies and strategies means that businesses can protect themselves and their customers from the ever-evolving landscape of online threats.”