Harnessing Google For Identifying Web Application Risks

Why bother pounding at a website in search of obscure holes when you can simply waltz in through the front door? Hackers have recently done just that, turning to Google to help simplify the task of honing in on their . . . Why bother pounding at a website in search of obscure holes when you can simply waltz in through the front door? Hackers have recently done just that, turning to Google to help simplify the task of honing in on their targets. "Google, properly leveraged, has more intrusion potential than any hacking tool," said hacker Adrian Lamo, who recently sounded the alarm.

The hacks are made possible by Web-enabled databases. Because database-management tools use canned templates to present data on the Web, typing specific phrases into Internet search tools often leads a user directly to those templated pages. For example, typing the phrase "Select a database to view" -- a common phrase in the FileMaker Pro database interface -- into Google recently yielded about 200 links, almost all of which lead to FileMaker databases accessible online.

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