The Internet has allowed businesses from virtually all industries to directly market and sell products and services to a world-wide audience. In one of its most unnoticed but profound applications, the Internet has served as the largest megaphone in history, allowing public watchdogs, political pundits, and citizen activists to shout their messages to millions with the click of a button. In this explosive growth of the Internet lies a threat that can reach businesses and individuals alike, but can be particularly harmful to publicly-traded companies. Recent months have seen a disturbing increase in instances of the Internet being used to victimize businesses through an abuse called cybersmearing. Cybersmearing is the practice of using the Internet to broadly and rapidly disseminate defamatory and false statements about a chosen target.
Targets can include both businesses and individuals.
When the target is your business, the consequences can be particularly painful. Small startups may find a cybersmearing campaign interfering with efforts to raise private funds. Publicly-traded companies can instantly find themselves on the defensive, trying to rebut unfounded accusations made by anonymous accusers. Perhaps most threatening is the rising trend in cybersmear tactics to manipulate stock prices. Even the best efforts to inform investors of the strengths of a company can quickly be undone by the cloud of suspicion a cybersmear campaign can create overnight.