Kaspersky Warns Businesses of Rising SEO Attacks Threatening Website Security and Online Reputation
Kaspersky, a global leader in cybersecurity and digital privacy, has issued a warning about the growing wave of search engine optimization (SEO) attacks that target business websites—especially small and medium-sized enterprises—by injecting hidden links into legitimate pages.
The company explained that while SEO is commonly used to ethically boost website visibility through keyword optimization, quality content, and authoritative backlinks, cybercriminals are now exploiting this process to manipulate search rankings. These attackers embed hidden links to illicit websites, such as those promoting gambling or adult content, jeopardizing the credibility, visibility, and legal standing of affected businesses.
According to Kaspersky, the impact of these attacks can be severe, including dramatic ranking drops, loss of visitor trust, and even legal liability if a website is linked to prohibited material. The attackers’ goals often range from discrediting reputable sites to diverting traffic toward specific malicious portals.
Hidden links are typically embedded by exploiting compromised administrator accounts, outdated CMS extensions, or server vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to directly modify a website’s HTML code or inject malicious scripts. As a result, affected sites may later be blocked or flagged by search engines and security solutions.
“Kaspersky’s categorization engine constantly detects hidden links pointing to pornographic and gambling sites. SEO spam is a serious threat that can silently erode a company’s digital credibility and financial stability. These hidden links not only exploit a website’s authority to boost illegal sites but can also lead to harsh penalties from search engines,” said Anna Larkina, Web Content and Privacy Analysis Expert at Kaspersky. “Proactive protection of admin panels and content management systems is vital to stay ahead of these evolving threats.”
To mitigate these risks, Kaspersky recommends that businesses:
Conduct regular source code audits using trusted tools such as Google Search Console or OpenLinkProfiler.
Keep CMS platforms and plugins up to date.
Enforce strong passwords with two-factor authentication (2FA).
Restrict admin panel access by IP address.
Implement web application firewalls (WAF) and maintain regular backups to recover quickly from unauthorized changes.
Founded in 1997, Kaspersky protects over one billion devices worldwide from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks. The company’s comprehensive portfolio includes leading digital protection for individuals, enterprises, critical infrastructure, and governments, leveraging deep threat intelligence to safeguard what matters most in the digital world.
