Cybersecurity Threats Lurking in Plain Sight

Cybersecurity Alert: Millions of Hijackable Hyperlinks Discovered on Trusted Websites

Summary:

A recent study revealed that millions of clickable links on websites can be redirected to malicious destinations, termed "hijackable hyperlinks." These vulnerabilities, found across trusted websites including those of large companies, financial institutions, and governments, can be exploited without raising alarms, making users susceptible to identity theft, account compromise, and financial loss.

Key Findings:

• Hijackable Hyperlinks: These are links that can be redirected to malicious sites due to typos or placeholder domains in the code.
• Phantom Domains: Mistyped or placeholder domains that can be bought by malicious actors to hijack traffic.
• Scale of the Issue: The study processed over 10,000 hard drives’ worth of data and found over 572,000 phantom domains.
• Exploitation: The research team purchased 51 phantom domains and observed significant inbound traffic from hijacked links, proving the exploitability of these vulnerabilities.
  

  Recommendations:
  

• For Users: Be vigilant and cautious when clicking on links.
• For Website Operators: Regularly crawl websites for broken links using available tools and fix any issues promptly.
  

  Context:
  

  The study underscores the need to re-categorize web data security from a "secondary" to a "primary" requirement, reflecting the internet’s critical role in modern information exchange.

  For detailed insights, the full paper can be accessed at the 2024 Web Conference publication.

  Credit:
  

  This summary is based on an article republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. For the original article, visit here.

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  This summary captures the essence of the research findings, the scale of the problem, and actionable steps for both users and website operators.