Search Engine Threat

Bangalore: Search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning, a technique used by malware authors to mix rogue results with the genuine ones, is a threat to small and medium enterprises in the country. "In India, while large enterprises demonstrate awareness of today's information issues and are implementing more effective solutions to secure and manage their data, the biggest gaps are among SMEs," said Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director of Symantec India.

The technique is used by cybercriminals to contaminate the search results on major search engines like Google and Bing, reports Business Standard. SEO poisoning along with interesting news items can result in a deadly combination. Conservative estimates put the loss due to these malicious attacks at anywhere between Rs. 460 crore and Rs. 920 crore, industry experts said.

According to a recent survey conducted by Symantec, Indian SMEs have the lowest deployment rate of security solutions across the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. About 61 percent of Indian SMEs are unaware of present-day IT security threats and they are reluctant to adopt technology, as the owners are not technology-savvy. SEO poisoning strives to hijack legitimate websites to use their clean reputations, so compromised websites will always be desirable from an attacker's perspective in an SEO campaign.

According to the Internet Security Threat Report, India is among the top three countries in the APJ region affected by malicious activity. "With growing Internet infrastructure, burgeoning broadband population and rampant software piracy, the country is set to witness an increase in these malicious activities," Dhupar added.

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