Hackread reports that underground market platform Hacklink has been fueling the increase in SEO poisoning attacks in Google Search results, which have been particularly targeted at the gambling sector.
Threat actors have been leveraging Hacklink to covertly inject malicious code matching often-searched keywords into breached websites in a bid to manipulate Google Search results, according to an analysis from Netcraft. With Hacklink enabling dynamic text manipulation in search results, attackers could not only remotely control the rankings of the compromised sites in search results without site supervision but also redirect targets to phishing pages masquerading as legitimate websites. Such a threat should prompt immediate patching efforts, admin panel security upgrades, and regular file modification tracking among organizations. Meanwhile, site owners were urged to review search results for their domains, perform unauthorized outbound link audits, and domain reputation monitoring. Users, on the other hand, were advised to properly verify URLs before providing personal or financial data.
Threat actors have been leveraging Hacklink to covertly inject malicious code matching often-searched keywords into breached websites in a bid to manipulate Google Search results, according to an analysis from Netcraft. With Hacklink enabling dynamic text manipulation in search results, attackers could not only remotely control the rankings of the compromised sites in search results without site supervision but also redirect targets to phishing pages masquerading as legitimate websites. Such a threat should prompt immediate patching efforts, admin panel security upgrades, and regular file modification tracking among organizations. Meanwhile, site owners were urged to review search results for their domains, perform unauthorized outbound link audits, and domain reputation monitoring. Users, on the other hand, were advised to properly verify URLs before providing personal or financial data.
