Mediarun Search Marketing News

Black-hat website optimisation drives the spread of malware

August 18th 2010

Search Engine Optimisation News

Despite the fact that search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, cybercriminals - and unscrupulous, rule-bending SEO agencies - always seem to be one step ahead. The proliferation of malware on the internet is undeniable and it is equally easy to see that black-hat website optimisation is boosting sites that host the malicious software up search engine results pages.

It was only at the end of July when Google was accused of being the 'king of malware'. Research from Barracuda Networks claimed that the search engine was guilty of linking to more malware-containing websites than its key rivals Yahoo and Bing.

The firm noted that Google accounts for a whopping 69 per cent of malware delivery - in contrast, social networking site Twitter accounts for just one per cent.

But the figure - rather than singling Google out as a nefarious operator in the search engine marketplace - highlights the fact that search engine optimisation is a core part of malware distribution. It seems that developing malware is only half the battle. Creating an effective black-hat search engine marketing strategy to distribute the dodgy content to the widest possible user base is at least as important to cybercriminals.

Commenting on the situation, Marc Fossi, manager of research and development for Symantec Security Response, told eWeek.com: "Black hat SEO works by exploiting search indexing algorithms, and I think search engine providers work hard to try and tweak their processes to cut down on misleading search results, but it's a cat and mouse game

"When search engine providers fine-tune their algorithms or make other changes to try and reduce black hat SEO effectiveness, the bad guys counter these adjustments by making minor adjustments of their own."

Recently, Zscaler introduced a malware protection tool that can be incorporated into the Firefox browser. It aims to add another layer of protection against malicious software and bypasses the problem of malware cropping up on search engine results pages by blocking websites when they are clicked on. It seems that with the steady advance of malicious website optimisation this could be the only approach open to search engine firms when it comes to tackling malware.

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