'Cyber crooks using celebrities to lure public to malware sites'

Bollywood celebrity Alia Bhatt has become the latest target used by cyber criminals for luring internet users.

According to the eighth edition of McAfee's 'most sensational celebrity' survey, cyber criminals are capitalizing on the public's fascination with celebrities to lure them to sites laden with malware, enabling them to steal passwords and personal information.

Alia Bhatt tops the list of riskiest personalities on the web. She is followed by actor Aamir Khan and Priyanka Chopra.

This year, searching for a 'celebrity name' coupled with search terms like 'wallpaper', 'videos', 'free download', 'hot pictures', 'selfie' and 'internet memes' have resulted in instances of malware-laden sites, said the survey.

"By including the names of popular celebrities in a website's search tags, consumers are completely unaware of the security risks that exist which can severely infect their computers, devices and steal personal data. Cybercriminals are consistently looking for ways to take advantage of consumer interest around new movies, TV shows, as well as the latest celebrity-driven trends. For e.g. the selfie craze that has gripped Bollywood, the ice bucket challenge videos or internet memes created for sheer fun," said Venkat Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering- Consumer, Business Group, McAfee India Centre, McAfee, Part of Intel Security.

Other than Bhatt, actor Aamir Khan's upcoming movie PK has generated interest among cyber criminals as the movies poster went viral and elicited interest on the social media. "Khan has 78 malicious sites to his name," said the survey.