External cybersecurity is the practice of identifying, monitoring, and securing all assets, services, and digital touchpoints that are accessible from the public Internet. These internet-exposed elements form the first set of entry points attackers examine when looking for ways to compromise an organization.
This modern external attack surface includes infrastructure attackers control, platforms they exploit, and public channels where they impersonate trusted brands.
This is where brand protection becomes a critical part of external cybersecurity.
How Brand Protection Fits Into External Cybersecurity
Brand protection used to live in corporate legal, focused on counterfeit goods, plagiarized logos, and unauthorized trademarks. Before the Internet, the work was slow and manual because the risk environment was also slow and manual.
That changed once attackers realized they could weaponize company brands online.
Brand abuse domains, fraudulent websites, and fake mobile apps are all elements of an organization’s attack surface because they serve as delivery points for credential theft and fraud. APWG reports millions of phishing and impersonation sites every year, all operating on infrastructure that sits outside the corporate perimeter.
Fraudsters use many of the same online vectors that cyber attackers rely on for phishing and other forms of compromise.
- A counterfeit login page can harvest credentials
- A typosquat domain can deliver malware
- A fraudulent mobile app can capture sensitive data
What External Cybersecurity Must Now Cover
Security teams must now account for digital properties they did not traditionally manage.
Examples include:
- Typosquat and lookalike domains used for phishing
- Social media impersonation profiles
- Fraudulent apps in major app stores
- Rogue storefronts and marketplaces
- Reposts of malicious links in comment fields and code repositories
- Dark web chatter about upcoming attacks or impersonation campaigns
Domain Monitoring as a Core External Security Control
Domain monitoring anchors the brand protection side of external cybersecurity. Security teams need visibility into all Internet-accessible DNS assets because attackers actively register variants of legitimate domains. These variants rely on minor character changes to mislead users and are effective because they blend into normal traffic patterns.
Buying every possible variant is not realistic for companies that operate many brands or work across hundreds of TLDs. Large organizations face thousands of feasible lookalike combinations, and attackers can create new ones within minutes.
Modern domain monitoring platforms
- Use automation and machine learning to map thousands of typosquatting variations across more than 3000 TLDs.
- Track threat indicators, monitor registrations, and evaluate which domains are being weaponized.
- Replace manual review, which cannot keep pace with the scale described in APWG’s reports.
Industry Differences
As you’d expect, the external attack surface looks different across industries. Here are some examples of where that’s true:
Financial institutions see higher risk in fraudulent mobile apps because customers regularly transact on mobile devices.
Gaming companies face in-game fraud and copycat marketplaces.
Retail brands face persistent counterfeit storefronts and coupon-based phishing.
Getting Started with External Attack Surface Management
Bolster provides automated scanning, domain analysis, impersonation detection, and takedown support to help teams manage these external risks.
To see how the platform works in real environments, request a demo and evaluate your own external exposure.
