--- title: "Understanding brand protection and digital assets" date: "2026-07-02T06:28:26" url: "https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/understanding-brand-protection" --- # Understanding brand protection and digital assets Your business’s digital assets are the face of your company online. These assets range from your domain name to your business website and even your social media accounts. It’s important to keep these assets protected, and in this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to do that. ## What is brand protection? Brand protection is the process of preventing theft or impersonation of your brand by unauthorized parties. Brand theft is a critical issue for businesses of all sizes, as brand theft can cause revenue loss and destroy your [brand identity](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/brand-identity-guide). Here are some examples of what brand protection covers: - **Trademarks:**The name, logo, slogans, and distinctive marks that identify your business. - [**Domain names**](https://www.godaddy.com/domains)**:**The digital address for your business. - **Copyrights:**Your company’s original content, images, videos, and creative works. - **Patents:**The inventions and proprietary tech owned by your business. - **Digital identities:**Your social media handles, online reputation, website, etc. Brand protection isn’t only for your intangible intellectual property. Examples of physical items that need protection would be counterfeit products, either someone stealing your product ideas and making a knockoff, or using very similar labeling to yours to cause confusion. But the foundation of any modern business’s brand is its domain name, and it’s critical to keep yours protected. Related: [How to find the perfect brand name](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/how-to-find-a-brand-name) ## Domain names are key to your brand While brand protection includes protecting all of the company information described above, protecting your business domain name is crucial. Once your website begins to attract visitors, your domain name’s value immediately begins to rise, and bad actors will take notice. It’s difficult to assess the [true value of domain names](https://www.godaddy.com/domain-value-appraisal), but generally, the more successful your business becomes online, the more valuable your domain name also becomes. Related: [What is a domain name?](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/what-is-a-domain-name) ## Common domain security vulnerabilities Given how important a domain name is, knowing the common vulnerabilities is important when working to protect it. Here are some of the more common issues to be aware of: - Failing to secure your domain account using [multi-step authentication](https://www.godaddy.com/help/enable-or-disable-2-step-verification-for-your-godaddy-account-7502) may leave your account at risk to scammers. - Opting to register your domain name for a short period of time can allow for registration lapses. - Registering your domain through an unknown domain registrar, resulting in poor customer support and/or poor account security features. - Forgetting to update the credit card on file, which can allow your domain name to expire. - Not registering common misspellings of your domain, opening the possibility of malicious [typosquatting](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/what-is-domain-squatting-and-what-can-you-do-about-it). Staying on top of your domain account and domain settings is critical to keeping your brand protected. ### How compromised domains enable brand impersonation attacks If your domain name is compromised, cybercriminals can use that domain name to cause widespread damage to your entire brand and business. And with brand impersonation causing almost [$3 billion in losses in 2024](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2024/04/impersonation-scams-not-what-they-used-be), securing your domains is the first step to keeping your business and your customers safe. Curious to know how these attacks usually play out? Let’s go over a couple of scenarios. #### Impersonation via email With full access to your domain name, bad actors don’t need to bother with [spoofed emails](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/news/godaddy-customers-beware-email-phishing-attempts). They’ll have the ability to update your domain’s DNS settings to route to their own email servers, making brand compromise a breeze. Using those emails, criminals are able to impersonate business owners or employees, allowing them to divert payroll, make fraudulent wire transfers, or steal sensitive company credentials. The damages from this type of attack include financial loss, brand damage, and extended business disruption while the business owner attempts to regain control of their domain name. #### Hijacked website Having control over your domain name also means that your domain can be redirected away from your legitimate website. This means that your customers can be tricked into completing fraudulent transactions or submitting sensitive information to a website that they thought was valid. The consequences of this type of targeted redirect of your website are vast, including harm to your customers, chargebacks and fraud reviews of your company, and long-term reputational damage when customers lose trust in your brand. ## Build a framework for domain security Your domain is only one part of your brand, but as we’ve covered in this guide, it holds the key to many of your business functions. And if that key is stolen, your business can suffer deep losses that are difficult to recover from. To avoid the scenarios we covered earlier, let’s go over the three pillars you’ll want to use when protecting your domain. ### Pillar 1: Prevention The best defense is a good offense. And the best offense is to be proactive about your domain security, including: - Ensure that your domain is locked and remains locked. Domains registered through GoDaddy are locked by default, so this step may not be necessary, depending on your registrar. - Apply privacy protection to your domain’s WHOIS details. This ensures that sensitive contact information isn’t publicly available for your domain. - Add multi-factor authentication to your domain account. - Keep your domain registration renewal up to date. It’s also a good idea to keep the domain registered for the maximum term to avoid any future possible registration lapses. - Use a secure, unique password for your domain account. ### Pillar 2: Monitoring Once you’ve set up your prevention measures, you’ll want to keep an eye on your domain. Here are some of the things to watch: - Pay attention to any emails/calls from your domain provider, as they may be reaching out to alert you to account or domain changes. - Ensure that you have account alerts turned on and that your contact details are up to date. - Keep an eye out for any new domain registrations that may be similar to your domain name. ### Pillar 3: Response Sometimes, even with the best defenses, issues can still happen. You’ll need to have processes set up in advance so that you can respond quickly if issues arise. - Create documentation for escalation procedures if security issues occur. - Legal resource contacts to help in the case of domain theft. - Communication plans for letting your customers know that your domain is compromised. - Backup plans for keeping your business running while working towards domain recovery. #### Domain security is collaborative It can be tempting to assign all three pillars to your IT department, but the best solution is to spread the responsibility out. Here’s an example of how that might look: - **IT department:**Manages technical security measures, access controls, and domain DNS. - **Legal department:**Covers trademark issues, intellectual property rights, and domain disputes. - **Marketing team:**Monitors brand usage online and identifies any potential impersonation attempts. - **Finance teams:**Ensures that account and payment information is current to avoid potential domain registration lapses. Delegating the responsibility across your company helps to build a security-conscious culture. Simple mistakes or unclear ownership undermine your domain security, so establishing clear roles at the beginning can avoid security pitfalls. As part of your security-conscious culture, it’s important to set strict policies (who can access domain accounts, when changes are allowed, how approvals work, etc.), train employees to spot phishing attempts, and reinforce secure habits like multi-factor authentication and password managers. ## Domain Protection helps keep your domain safe Domain privacy is automatically included with all eligible domains registered through GoDaddy. It replaces your personal contact details with substitute information provided by Domains By Proxy®, helping keep your information private. [Domain Protection](https://www.godaddy.com/domains/domain-protection) goes a step further by helping secure your domain against unauthorized changes, such as domain transfers or DNS updates. It also helps prevent accidental domain expiration, even if the payment method on file expires. Related: [Domain security guide](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/domain-security-guide-domain-ownership-protection) ## Proactive strategies to protect your brand Here are some additional expert recommendations on early steps that you can take to protect your brand online. ### Register your IP rights early Don't wait until your business scales up to secure trademarks and domain names. Register your primary trademarks with the USPTO and secure your core domain names (including common misspellings and key TLDs like[.com](https://www.godaddy.com/tlds/com-domain),[.net](https://www.godaddy.com/tlds/net-domain), and[.org](https://www.godaddy.com/tlds/org-domain)) as early as possible. > And don’t forget about[trademarking your logo](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/how-to-trademark-logo)! Early registration establishes legal priority and makes enforcement far easier. ### Monitor third-party platforms Your domain isn't the only place your brand lives online. Regularly scan ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba for counterfeit products sold under your brand name. Monitor social media platforms for fake accounts impersonating your business. ### Enforce your rights decisively When infringement is identified, take swift legal action. This may include filing DMCA takedown notices, initiating UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) proceedings to recover hijacked domains, or sending cease-and-desist letters to unauthorized sellers. The faster you act, the less damage to your brand. ## Secure your domain, protect your brand Brand protection is wide-ranging, but your domain name is one of the most valuable parts of your business. Taking early steps to protect both your brand and your domain is vital, especially in the current business climate. And, for extra peace of mind, [GoDaddy’s Domain Protection](https://www.godaddy.com/domains/domain-protection) will help protect your domain and defend your business from online risks and bad actors.