Are you Vulnerable to Google Hacking?
The term "Google Hacking" refers to a hacker attack that uses a search engine like Google to find vulnerable Web servers and websites. Google hacking makes use of special search queries to locate servers and Web applications running with incomplete security or with no security. In addition to searching for vulnerable servers and applications, Google hacking has grown in recent years to include launching attacks with search engine queries.
The Google Hacking Database
The Google Hacking Database (GHDB) is a compendium of Google hacking search terms that have been found to reveal sensitive data. The GHDB is maintained by Johnny Long, a security research and Google Hacking expert, and consists of contributions from the Google hacking community. The database can be used by automated tools to test Web servers and websites for Google hacking vulnerabilities. For more information about GHDB, see Johnny Long's Google Hacking Database website.
Some of the categories of Google hacking vulnerabilities in the GHDB include:
- Product-specific advisories
- Error messages that contain sensitive information such as directory paths
- Files with sensitive data, passwords and user names
- Sensitive online shopping data
- Web server detailed information
Tools that search for Google hacking vulnerabilities use the GHDB to make sure that the most current threats are being tested.
Testing for Google Hacking Vulnerabilities
The only way to prevent Google hacking attacks on Web servers and Web applications is to test for hacking vulnerabilities. A Web Vulnerability Scanner that supports the launch of Google hacking queries will crawl each page of a website and check for vulnerabilities that are reflected by the Google community at large. This is a significant benefit that few others offer!
Prevent Google Hacking Attacks with SSM Web Vulnerability Scanner
The SSM Web Vulnerability Scanner will test for Google hacking vulnerabilities as well as for Cross-site Scripting, SQL Injection and over 100,000 other types of vulnerabilities. It will also check authentication pages for password strength and automatically audit pages with dynamic content, shopping carts and forms. The scan includes detailed reports that identify vulnerabilities.
Try a free trial of the SSM Web Vulnerability Scanner simply complete the short form on the right. The free trial version will scan websites and Web applications for vulnerabilities and provide suggestions on how to proceed when vulnerabilities are found.