Google hacks rise

THE NUMBER of companies that are being hacked because their data can be found on Google is increasing.

Kiwi researchers working for Massey University in Palmerston North wrote some code which ran 170 daily queries against the Google database, looking at sites in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the Czech Republic. They ran the program for three months.

They found that New Zealand sites were more vulnerable to Google hackers than than Australian or United States sites, but also that more sites across the globe were becoming vulnerable every day.

Backup files were the most susceptible followed by remote administration vulnerabilities.

The research found 50 vulnerabilities in Massey's own website which have since been closed.

More here. µ