Typing these 6 words on Google could make you a target for hackers
Hindustan TimesHackers are now targeting people who type in a combination of words in search engines on their computers, according to an urgent warning by cybersecurity company SOPHOS, reported the New York Times. People who type into Google “Are Bengal Cats legal in Australia?” have reportedly had their personal information posted online after clicking on a link which appears at the top of the search results, the report said. SOPHOS explained in its warning, “Victims are often enticed into clicking on malicious adware or links disguised as legitimate marketing, or in this case a legitimate Google search.” The warning further said that hackers only seem to be targeting those who include the word “Australia” in their searches, which means that people from the country are more prone to these cyberattacks. This practice has been decribed by the Daily Mail as an “insidious technique in which criminals manipulate search engine results to push websites they control to the top of the page.” In their advisory, SOPHOS urged anyone who might have been a victim of SEO poisoning to change their password immediately and upgrade their security systems.