Ten Most Dangerous Indian Celebs On Cyberspace

Are you an Internet addict? And a die-hard Bollywood fan? Always surfing the World Wide Web for some hot and exciting stuff about your favourite diva? Just go slow a bit there or you could become the next victim of cybercrime. The risk is all the great if you are looking for a celebrity name coupled with search terms like ‘wall paper’, ‘videos’ or ‘nude pictures’. The results that pop up happen to be sites full of malware that can steal your passwords and personal information.

The findings have been revealed by the global cyber security firm McAfee who says cybercriminals often use popular celeb names as easy baits to lure unsuspecting fans. The company has researched the most famous names of the global pop culture and disclosed the riskiest celebrity sportsmen, actors and politicians across the Web in its 2013 rendition of ‘Most Dangerous Celebrity’ research.

Don’t get us wrong – there’s nothing risky about these people. But their popularity makes them the hackers’ choice and their followers often land up on ‘dangerous’ websites that tag those names. The McAfee study highlights the trend of this year and searching for a celebrity name, coupled with the search terms above, has resulted in the highest instances of malware-laden sites. The study uses McAfee® SiteAdvisor® site ratings, which indicate the sites which are risky to search when attached to celebrity names on the Web and calculate an overall risk percentage.

So who are the Bollywood celebs to figure in that list? You may feel shocked and surprised, but the person topping the list is none other than our cute and bubbly Piggy Chops (Priyanka Chopra, to the world). The actor-turned-‘Exotic’ singer has been named McAfee’s Most Dangerous Celebrity in Indian cyberspace this year. The firm has used co.in sites for search purpose and come up with 79 ‘infected’ sites to her ‘credit’. But there’s more meat to the story – Priyanka has knocked down Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone who led the pack last year. In fact, Sunny occupies a dismal 9th slot this year.

Among the male stars, the magnetic Shah Rukh Khan with his dimpled smile is the obvious choice for net searchers, although he is lagging behind Piggy Chops with 75 ‘malicious sites’ to his credit. Next comes Salman Khan, but the quintessential macho man of Indian cinema could not flex his muscles much in this cyber contest and has finished a poor third with 68 malware-laden sites.

In contrast, Bollywood’s only ‘size zero’ diva Kareena Kapoor has done better and finished a close 4th with a score of 63. It shows that ‘Bebo’ hasn’t lost her sizzle in spite of her marriage with the ageing hero Saif Ali Khan who finished 6th with a score of 55. But one must not forget Akshay Kumar, the classic khiladi and the macho playboy-turned-romantic in many of his films, who has bagged the 5th spot with 62 search results.

Still, we can’t help feeling a bit shocked when ‘Big B’ Amitabh Bachchan finished behind Saif with a score of 53. His charisma and refined sense of humour have undoubtedly won him millions of fans over the decades. But going by the ‘search’ terms this year, it’s not surprising that he has come down a little in terms of ranking.

Eighth man Farhan Akhtar (50 infected sites to his credit) has certainly done well, especially when Hrithik ‘heartthrob’ Roshan has finished at the bottom of the ‘top 10’ list, even below the sexy Leone. The multi-talented Farhan’s rise to fame is not surprising (this Mumbaikar is a film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, playback singer, lyricist and television host), especially after his commendable acting in Oscar nomination hopeful Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. It is also understandable that Sunny sans her skin show can’t go up very far (her score is 49). But we seriously wonder why Hrithik, with his chiselled muscles, lover boy looks and floor-blazing dancing skills, has finished 10th with a score of 48. Will this ranking affect the box office of the much-awaited Krrish 3?

Commenting on the study, Venkatasubrahmanyam Krishnapur, vice-president of engineering – Consumer and Mobile, Business Group, McAfee India Centre, said, “In India, where celebrities are given the status of demigods, cybercriminals often use their names to lure people to sites that actually host malicious software designed to compromise personal details and disrupt devices.

“By including the names of popular celebrities in a website’s search tags, cyber criminals are able to direct more visitors to malicious sites where they may unwittingly sign up for spam or harmful spyware, ending up with a malware ridden devices,” he added.

Alarmed? Just be careful when you look up your favourite celeb next time and don’t visit sites randomly, especially if you are getting loads of security warning.

Before we sign off, here’s a final look at the top 10 Indian celebs – remember, searching for them online could result into malware attacks:

• Priyanka Chopra


• Shah Rukh Khan


• Salman Khan


• Kareena Kapoor


• Akshay Kumar


• Saif Ali Khan


• Amitabh Bachchan


• Farhan Akhtar


• Sunny Leone


• Hrithik Roshan
  
  Image courtesy: Economic Times