In the ever-evolving landscape of digital security, a new player has emerged that promises to change the game in brand protection. Tracer’s agentic AI solution, Flora, is the world’s first agentic AI specifically designed to combat digital brand misuse. In a recent episode of The SecurityANGLE, I had the opportunity to sit down with Rick Farnell, CEO, and Eliano Marques, Chief Product and AI Officer of Tracer, to discuss what I view as groundbreaking technology — and explore its implications for businesses worldwide.
Watch Tracer’s Agentic AI Revolutionizes Brand Protection here —
The Growing Threat of Digital Brand Misuse
As we delved into the conversation, it became clear that digital brand misuse is a pressing concern for organizations across the globe. According to the FTC, business imposter scams are the most frequently reported form of imposter scams, resulting in staggering losses of approximately $10 billion in 2023 alone. While there are many different kinds of business imposter scams, they all share one basic premise: they pretend to be someone you trust, a co-worker (or boss), government agent, relative, or well-known business, and their ultimate goal is to persuade you to send them money. The FTC reports that in 2023, data from their organization alone shows more than 330,00 reports of business impersonation scams and almost 160,000 reports of government impersonation scams, so this is no small problem.
With the advent of generative AI, which has been as eagerly embraced by cyber threat actors as it is by organizations the world over, the challenge of controlling brand fraud has become even more daunting for CIOs, security professionals, and brand managers.
Some common imposter scams that I’m certain you’ve experienced to some degree include things like text or email message notifications alerting to suspicious purchases made via Amazon or on a credit card account, notifications purportedly from UPS or other carriers about delayed packages that require your attention, or even invoices for things you’ve never bought (like those Best Buy Geek Squad subscription notices with a hefty invoice attached that we’ve all likely received).
Impersonating multiple organizations is a common tactic for threat actors, often pretending to be a business or trusted government entity to capture attention and spur action. These notices, for instance a notification purporting to be from the IRS, are designed to scare a recipient into action and get them while they’re not yet thinking clearly to provide the personal or brand information threat actors seek. All of these tactics are designed to startle a recipient and compel a click and inspire further action, which is generally a recipient handing over personal financial information in an effort to ‘solve’ the problem and creating a nightmare of a situation they’ll then need to navigate through.
With the advent of generative AI, the challenge of controlling brand fraud, protecting a brand’s identity and its customers, has become even more daunting for CIOs, security professionals, and brand managers.
Enter Flora: Tracer’s Agentic AI Solution
Tracer’s agentic AI solution is the company’s response to this growing threat, powered by a new 8 billion parameter special purpose large language model (LLM) specifically designed for brand-related use cases. What sets Flora apart is its ability to detect, review, and remove brand abuse quickly and at scale, reducing the time infringements are online by up to 80%.
Eliano Marques explained the significance of agentic AI in this context: “When you think about an agentic AI system, you are thinking of an ecosystem of AI components. We’re basically talking about text, images, short form videos, content, meaning whatever it is on a threat graph, the relationships between detections and phone numbers, IPs and all sorts of other attributes.”
This holistic approach allows Flora to navigate through different types of knowledge autonomously, leading to faster and more accurate outcomes in threat detection and mitigation.
Tracer’s AI for Good Mission
One of the most compelling aspects of our discussion was Tracer’s commitment to “AI for Good.” Both Rick and Eliano expressed passion for using AI technology to benefit society at large. As Eliano put it, “The world is really divided at the moment between the fear of AI versus the benefits of AI. And you hear this every day sometimes by big voices and there is all sorts of regulation coming in, a lot of it really fearing what can happen. And I’m always very vocal about the benefits that AI can do to humanity in pretty much any sector.”
This commitment to using AI for positive change is reflected in Flora’s design and implementation, aiming to protect not just brands but also consumers from fraudulent activities.
A Call for Collaboration
As we wrapped up our conversation, Rick Farnell offered valuable advice for organizations looking to enhance their brand protection strategies: “I think that it’s a team-based approach. One thing that we are really trying to foster is an effective collaboration between the security teams, the legal teams, the risk teams, and marketing teams of our customers to all work together.”
And he’s right — there won’t be any forward progress on this front without approaching it as a team. This emphasis on breaking down silos and fostering collaboration across different departments highlights the comprehensive nature of effective brand protection in today’s digital landscape. In my opinion, it’s a much needed focus and one that not many vendors are yet lasering in on, which presents a great opportunity for Tracer to leverage.
Looking Ahead for Tracer
The introduction of Flora and Tracer’s agentic AI approach in brand protection marks a significant milestone in the fight against digital fraud and brand misuse. As generative AI continues to evolve, so too must our defenses against those who would use it maliciously.
For organizations looking to stay ahead of the curve in brand protection, exploring agentic AI solutions like Flora could be a game-changing move. As we continue to navigate the complex world of digital security, it’s clear that innovative, AI-driven approaches will play an increasingly crucial role in safeguarding brands and consumers alike.
The future of brand protection is here, and it’s powered by agentic AI. Are you ready to embrace it? The team at Tracer certainly is.
Image credit: Pexels, Artem Podrez
See more of my coverage here:
Zoho Raises the Bar in Self-Service BI with AI-Powered Zoho Analytics Platform
The State of Data Management: Success Hinges on Real-Time Data Access and Security (new research)
The Rise of Agentic AI in Financial Services (and why that’s exciting)
