How Paxfire and U.S. ISPs hijacked billions (and what brands can do to boost their protection)
Posted by Adriana Tayraco on Tue, Aug 16, 2011
Just recently Paxfire – a company based in Virginia – has gone under fire after accusations that the technology firm has been working alongside various US ISPs to intercept and redirect users’ search queries while making a profit out of it. Although it is not clear to what degree the ISPs knew of Paxfire true intents, they have all terminated their contracts. Paxfire, along with Internet Service Provider RCN Corp are now being sued by plaintiff Betsy Feist and her representatives Peter Seidman and Stanford Dumain with Milberg LLP, they may also face a Congressional inquiry. Paxfire’s CEO has issued a statement refuting all allegations.
Researchers at the International computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California who broke the news posted that "When looking up brand names such as "apple," "dell," "groupon," and "wsj," the affiliate programs direct the queries to the corresponding brands' websites or to search assistance pages instead of providing the intended search engine results page." These mysterious third party proxies could then monitor and modify the search results to include or eliminate certain websites or promote sponsored listings; and making a profit at the same time. Researchers at Berkeley have identified 170 search terms targeted by Paxfire technology. These companies were unnecessarily and unknowingly sharing revenue with Paxfire and the ISPs - Paxfire’s website indicated they generated millions of dollars a month.
What has been done?
Google and Microsoft were approached after the allegations were made public and have issued their own statements. A spokesperson for Google said that when the company discovers DNS or query hijacking like what Paxfire and RCN are alleged to have done, it contacts the ISP and/or DNS provider and asks them to stop. And Microsoft stated that “we [Microsoft] view the redirection of search queries without user consent as inappropriate. The security and privacy of our customers is very important to us at Bing. We recommend people use OpenDNS to protect themselves from being unknowingly redirected.”
After the Paxfire incident, online brand protection has never seemed more important. The companies who lost revenue because of it also saw their brand’s reputation affected as customers were being misled and the organizations were exposed to needless liability. Unfortunately consumers do not always know how to identify the real culprit. BrandProtect – leader in Internet threat management – asserts: Even accidental abuses by authorized resellers or agents can lead to significant financial loses and potentially damage customer relationships. And so, how can a brand be protected from the backlash of such infringements? Richard Mccann, Sr. Director, Product Management for BrandProtect, believes that “it is vital for companies to understand and be aware of how their company is being presented in search engines. Our clients are seen similar threats through the misuse of paid placement and so as part of our brand abuse protection plan, we investigate ads that are competitive with, or otherwise are a threat to our clients’ brands”.
Jamila Hunte, Account Manager at BrandProtect, works with her clients to identify trademark infringements and – if needed - sends cease-and-desist notes to the URLs committing these violations. She notes that because of the reach of keyword advertisement, there are many ways in which an infraction could go unnoticed. “These ads could be showing up in all regions but yours. They know where you are and will use reverse geo-targeting to hide from you. They can also be specific for a time-frame, meaning that they will run only late at night. It can be very tricky to hunt them down on your own. ” BrandProtect’s monitoring service tracks the use of the trademark keywords 24 hours a day and from different jurisdictions, providing brands with peace of mind. Other services being offered for brand protection include monitoring for: traffic diversion, brand dilution, channel violations, increased PPC costs.
If there is something companies are learning at a fast pace is that internet threats to your brand will not always come from shady individuals or dubious companies. While it is still under investigation, the Paxfire incident was something the affected companies had no control over and yet they saw themselves involved just by being on the side lines. Brand protection is invaluable; you need to monitor everything, from distribution avenues to communication channels. You can never fully control your brand risk, but it would be stupid not to have a plan for how to react when something does go wrong.