What is SEO poisoning?

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a marketing technique that involves tailoring websites and web pages so that they appear higher in the results from a search engine. When we use a search engine like Google, most of us click the first result that appears to provide the information we are looking for. From the website owner’s perspective, the higher they can get in Google’s search results, the more traffic they will get to their site, which means that they can sell more widgets or display more ads. This is why many businesses use search engine optimization to improve their placement in search results.

Search engine optimization involves many tactics, including:

• Speeding up the website so that content is delivered more rapidly.
• Acquiring links from other reputable websites to demonstrate that your website is also reputable.
• Tailoring the content of webpages so that they provide solutions to user queries.

When a search engine like Google crawls the web, it ranks websites and pages according to these and many other factors. When a user conducts a search, the search engine returns the results it deems to be most relevant. Search engine optimization essentially involves crafting websites and pages to appeal to Google, with the intention of landing as high as possible in the results.

How does SEO poisoning work?

Let’s say that you’re a hacker who wants your ransomware installed on as many systems as possible. One option is to distribute it through a malicious website that will send the malware to your site visitors. However, you still need to find ways to get people to visit your website. You could send out phishing messages containing the malicious link. Another possibility is to do the exact same thing that an online shoe store would do—optimize your website and web pages so that they appear higher in the search results.

To achieve this, you could use the legitimate SEO techniques that any shoe store would use. You could also use blackhat SEO techniques, such as keyword stuffing or purchasing blacklinks. Ultimately, you would do whatever you can to get higher in the rankings so that more site visitors would be infected by your ransomware.

Reducing the risks of SEO poisoning

Some of the best ways to limit your organization’s risks from SEO poisoning are:

• Security training and awareness – If you train your employees about the risks of SEO poisoning, they will be more likely to identify it and avoid malicious websites. One thing to look out for is typos in the address. Sometimes, malicious websites will impersonate legitimate websites with subtly different addresses. If you are looking for example.com, you might get fooled by exannple.com if you aren’t looking closely.
• Ensuring that systems are up to date – Many common forms of malware will only work on outdated software. If we patch our systems promptly, we can substantially reduce our risks.
• Implementing endpoint detection and response (EDR) – If an employee does visit a malicious website, EDR software can block the malware from downloading and send an alert.