Strength Google gets viruses exploited to spread

"Google Hacking" book cover by Jonny Long.

Authors of attack software are increasingly creating new tools to take advantage of the huge search system to determine the target. This is the latest trend in the hacker world and is called ' Google hacking ' technology.

' Google hacking ' does not mean entering the service company's servers, but online criminals use the search system to collect information online. This technique has even been written into books.

According to deputy director of risk management George Kutz of security firm McAfee, the virus called Santy, which appeared in late 2004, exploited a vulnerability that was announced in some phpBB versions, so that hackers can do it. deformation (deface) websites. The virus detects the target via an automated search command on Google. The search engine later blocked Santy's spread by blocking all search commands that appeared on servers running the application. However, Google's system can only detect exploits if the query commands reveal differences compared to other search commands.

Hackers have used search engines to support website intrusions since the search service was launched on the Internet. McAfee's deputy director George Kutz said that just a few simple queries can be obtained by user names and sensitive personal information. Some Internet users also put log files for scanning errors on their websites, and reports of this activity are an invitation to online criminals to exploit the recorded vulnerabilities.