Anyone can easily fall for it with a simple Google search. Indeed, certain keywords represent a risk, warn cybersecurity experts.
Google is the first search engine, the one that most of us use to get a simple answer to a question, advice, a recipe or to find a video, photos… Generally, the solution is quickly found since Google offers us sites classified according to the relevance of our queries. But now, clicking on the first link can be dangerous, according to Sophos, a cybersecurity company.
Indeed, hackers are now using a sophisticated technique called “SEO poisoning”. Thanks to SEO, hackers have no trouble seizing the first pages of results to position their malicious sites.
This is what happened in Australia, warns the company which explains that many victims having typed the phrase “Are Bengal Cats legal in Australia ?“(Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?)” were offered a (fraudulent) site with the download of a ZIP file containing software called GoogLoader, designed to steal personal information. “Victims are often tricked into clicking on malicious adware or links disguised as legitimate marketing, or in this case, a legitimate Google search.explains Sophos.
To avoid being tricked, it is recommended to always check the URL of the site, from now on, even if it is the first link on Google, and to never download a file from a site you do not know not. Cybercriminals should not limit themselves to “Bengal cats” but could well adapt keywords according to current searches and the interests of the population or country. A threat that therefore becomes risky wherever you are…
