H-ISAC TLP White Finished Intelligence Reports HC3: Analyst Note - SEO Poisoning June 22, 2023

Search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning, considered a type of malvertising (malicious advertising), is a technique used by threat actors to increase the prominence of their malicious websites, making them look more authentic to consumers. SEO poisoning tricks the human mind, which naturally assumes the top hits are the most credible, and is very effective when people fail to look closely at their search results. This can lead to credential theft, malware infections, and financial losses. As more organizations utilize search engines and healthcare continues to digitally transform, SEO poisoning is becoming a larger security threat. HC3 has observed this attack method being used recently and frequently against the U.S. Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector