Emma Watson has been named as the favourite bait for cyber criminals attempting to lure internet users to malicious sites
The American internet security firm McAfee said that the Harry Potter actress
is the 'most dangerous' celebrity to search for online.
Many sites use Watson to trick users into downloading malicious software or to
steal personal information.
When searching for the 22 year-old Watson there is a one-in-eight chance of
landing on a malicious site.
Cyber criminals often use the names of popular celebrities to lure users to
sites that are actually laden with malicious software.
They follow the latest trends to lead users to sites which are designed to
steal passwords and personal information.
According to McAfee this year, searching for a celebrity name with 'free
downloads' and 'nude pictures' as part of the search term resulted in the
highest result of risky sites.
The research reveals the riskiest Hollywood actors, athletes, musicians, politicians, designers, and comedians on the web.
This is the sixth time the Intel-owned security technology company has conducted the study, which was last year topped by Heidi Klum.
Female celebrities are far more likely to be utilised by cyber criminals. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was the only male in the top 20.
Paula Greve, director of web security research at McAfee said: "In today’s celebrity culture, consumers expect to be able to go online to catch up with the latest photos, videos, tweets, and stories about their favourite celebrities.
Due to the richness of the data and the high interaction, often times consumers forget the risks that they are taking by clicking on the links."
She added: “As the sophistication and expectations of consumers with respect to their online experience has increased, so has the level and ability to deliver malware either by malvertising, exploiting the user’s browser without their awareness, or masking malicious URLs behind shortened URLs.”
Others among the riskiest celebrities to search online are Jessica Biel, Eva Mendes, Selena Gomez and Halle Berry.
The research reveals the riskiest Hollywood actors, athletes, musicians, politicians, designers, and comedians on the web.
This is the sixth time the Intel-owned security technology company has conducted the study, which was last year topped by Heidi Klum.
Female celebrities are far more likely to be utilised by cyber criminals. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was the only male in the top 20.
Paula Greve, director of web security research at McAfee said: "In today’s celebrity culture, consumers expect to be able to go online to catch up with the latest photos, videos, tweets, and stories about their favourite celebrities.
Due to the richness of the data and the high interaction, often times consumers forget the risks that they are taking by clicking on the links."
She added: “As the sophistication and expectations of consumers with respect to their online experience has increased, so has the level and ability to deliver malware either by malvertising, exploiting the user’s browser without their awareness, or masking malicious URLs behind shortened URLs.”
Others among the riskiest celebrities to search online are Jessica Biel, Eva Mendes, Selena Gomez and Halle Berry.
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