Hackers love Ryan Gosling. In actual fact, hackers use his title as bait greater than another superstar.
With that, the celebrated star of “Barbie” and umpteen different hit movies tops our Hacker Superstar Scorching Checklist for 2023. It’s our annual research that reveals which big-name superstar searches most frequently hyperlink to malware and dangerous websites. And this yr, we’ve advanced the listing. It now consists of celebs noticed in deepfake and different AI-driven content material.
With Gosling’s excessive profile this yr, it comes as little shock that he ranked so extremely. As we reported earlier this yr, “Barbie” was an enormous hit for cybercriminals as properly. They baited shoppers with a rash of ticket scams, obtain scams, and different assaults that capitalized on the summer season hit’s hype.
Who made the Hacker Superstar Scorching Checklist?
Months later, searches for Gosling stay excessive. His portrayal of Ken has scored him a first-ever Billboard Scorching 100 track with “I’m Simply Ken.” In the meantime, Ken and Barbie outfits rank among the many hottest Halloween costumes for 2023.
And in case you’re questioning, Margot Robbie, who starred as Barbie to Gosling’s Ken, ranked quantity eight on our listing. The complete prime ten breaks down as follows:
- Ryan Gosling, Golden Globe winner and a number of Academy Award nominee.
- Emily Blunt, critically acclaimed actor and star of this summer season’s hit movie, Oppenheimer.
- Jennifer Lopez, popular culture icon, critically acclaimed singer, actor, and producer.
- Zendaya, critically acclaimed actor and singer.
- Kevin Costner, Academy Award-winning actor and director, and present star of the hit sequence, Yellowstone.
- Elon Musk, enterprise magnate and tech entrepreneur.
- Al Roker, the “Right now” present’s common meteorologist, writer, and journalist.
- Margot Robbie, actor, producer, and a number of Academy Award and BAFTA award nominee, and the star of this summer season’s hit movie, Barbie.
- Unhealthy Bunny, multi-platinum album singer, and the primary non-English-language singer to be named as Spotify’s most streamed artist of the yr.
- America Ferrera, actor and famous supporting star of this summer season’s hit movie, Barbie.
What’s in danger once you seek for these celebrities.
The hackers behind these celebrity-driven assaults are after two major issues.
- They need you handy over private data to allow them to use it to commit identification fraud and theft.
- They need to infect your system with malware. That may embrace adware that may steal private data or ransomware that holds your system and its information hostage—for a worth.
Accordingly, they’ll pair superstar names with phrases like audio e book, lyrics, deepfake, free ringtone, free film, free obtain, MP4, amongst others—which generate outcomes that result in sketchy websites.
In all, they aim individuals who need to obtain one thing or come up with celebrity-related content material in some kind. Once more, consider the “Barbie” film scams earlier this yr that promoted free downloads of the film — however in fact they have been malware and identification theft scams.
Trying to find a star title alone didn’t essentially result in an inventory of sketchy outcomes. Our personal Chief Expertise Officer, Steve Grobman, described the dangers properly. “We all know persons are in search of out free content material, comparable to film downloads, which places them in danger. If it sounds too good to be true, it typically is and deserves a more in-depth look.” But hackers know the way hungry persons are for superstar content material, and sadly some individuals will go forward and click on these hyperlinks that promise celebrity-filled content material, regardless of the dangers.
Who else made the Hacker Superstar Scorching Checklist?
Additional rounding out the listing, we discovered a number of massive names from sports activities and common tradition.
Argentine soccer participant Lionel Messi is available in at quantity 18 on the listing, who not too long ago made the transfer to Miami’s Main League Soccer group. Current retiree and all-time American soccer nice Tom Brady clocked in at quantity 19, and Travis Kelce, American soccer tight finish for the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, came in at quantity 22. NBA star Steph Curry at quantity 23, while Aaron Rogers, one other American soccer legend, got here in at quantity 31. And Serena Williams, a dominant drive on the courtroom and in tradition, ranked at quantity 32.
Actuality and popular culture favorites additionally made the highest 50, with Andy Cohen of “Actual Housewives” fame taking the quantity 11 slot, adopted by Kim Kardashian at quantity 24, and Tom Sandoval at quantity 40 on the listing.
And for the Swifties on the market, Taylor Swift ranked 25 on our listing this yr.
Additionally making the listing — AI scams.
Because of available AI instruments, cybercriminals have elevated each the sophistication and quantity of their assaults. It’s no completely different for these celebrity-based assaults.
In response to McAfee researchers, one such AI-driven pattern is on the rise: deepfakes. For instance, Elon Musk. He hit quantity six on our listing, and our researchers discovered a major quantity of malicious deepfake content material tied to his title — usually linked with cryptocurrency scams.
Taking a pattern set of the highest 50 listing, McAfee researchers found between 25 to 135 deepfake URLs per superstar search. Whereas there are situations of malicious deepfakes, many superstar deepfakes fall into leisure or false promoting use circumstances proper now. Nonetheless, there’s rising proof that future deepfakes might flip misleading — intentionally passing alongside disinformation in a public determine’s title.
Staying secure whereas trying to find celebs — and generally.
You may have each motive, and each proper, to seek for and luxuriate in your superstar content material safely. A mixture of a pointy eye and on-line safety can hold you secure on the market.
- Go along with retailers and web sites you possibly can belief. When it comes time to get your superstar information, search for names you already know. Dependable sources which were round. The fact is that it’s not robust for hackers and scammers to rapidly spin up their very own (utterly bogus) “superstar information” websites. In actual fact, it’s slightly straightforward, thanks partly to AI that may generate phony articles that in any other case look actual.
- Follow authentic streaming and obtain providers. Whether or not you need to spin one thing from Taylor Swift’s newest album (Taylor’s model, in fact) or stream motion pictures out of your favourite stars, use recognized and bonafide providers. Sure, generally which means paying. Or placing up with a couple of advertisements. The unlawful options could be riddled with malware or ask for private data that finally ends up proper within the palms of hackers.
- Don’t “log in” or present different data. In the event you obtain a message, textual content, or electronic mail, or go to a third-party web site that asks for information like your bank card, electronic mail, dwelling tackle, or different login data, don’t give it out. Significantly if there’s a promise for “unique” content material. Such requests are a typical tactic for phishing that might result in identification theft.
- Inform what’s actual and what’s faux with on-line safety software program. Complete on-line safety software program can hold superstar scams and different scams like them at bay. First, our new McAfee Rip-off Safety makes use of good AI to detect and warn you of rip-off texts and hyperlinks despatched your approach, so you possibly can inform what’s actual and what’s faux. Second, net safety seems to be out for you when you search—figuring out malicious hyperlinks and even blocking them in case you nonetheless click on one by chance. Collectively, that is a part of the total system, identification, and privateness safety you get with us.
Whether or not it’s Ryan, J-Lo, or Unhealthy Bunny – you possibly can keep secure once you search.
Hackers and scammers love driving the coattails of celebrities. By hijacking massive names like Ryan, J-Lo, and Unhealthy Bunny, they dupe loads of well-meaning followers into downloading malware or handing over their private data.
In fact, that’s no motive to cease trying to find these celebs. By no means. Go forward and luxuriate in your exhibits, music, and flicks—and all of the information, gossip, and tea surrounding them. That’s all a part of the enjoyable. Simply do it with a pointy eye and the correct safety that has your again.
