Who Knew Hackers Have Their Own Search Engines?

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Hackers tend to the flock to the Internet’s underbelly, the Dark Web, and it remains inaccessible unless you have a Tor browser.  According to the AIRS Association, hacker search engines are a lot easier to access than you think, read about it in “5 Hacker-Friendly Search Engines You Must Use.”  The best-known hacker-friendly search engine is Shodan, which can search for Internet connected devices.  While Shodan can search computers, smartphones, and tablets the results also include traffic lights, license plate readers, and anything with an Internet connection.  The biggest problem, however, is that most of these devices do not have any security:

The main reason that Shodan is considered hacker-friendly is because of the amount and type of information it reveals (like banner information, connection types, etc.). While it is possible to find similar information on a search engine like Google, you would have to know the right search terms to use, and they aren’t all laid out for you.

Other than Shodan some of the other scary search engines are ZoomEye, I2P, PunkSPIDER, and Censys.  These search engines range in the amount of data they share as well as their intended purpose, but they all reveal Internet connected devices.  Beginners can use these search engines, but it takes a little more than technical know how to get results displayed.  One needs to figure out how to use them before you even enter the first search result, because basic keyword will not get you far.

 

Hacker search engines are a good tool to use to find security breaches in your personal network or Web site.  What will prevent most people from using them is the lack of experience, but with only a small amount of learning these search engines in the wrong hands are dangerous.

 

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