Hackers have become notorious for disrupting and vandalizing systems and websites. In fact, this very blog was targeted once. It used to be that hackers would sabotage websites for notoriety purposes or to spread a message. Common tactics include putting up disturbing images or replacing the main page with a page containing the hacker’s signature.
The Invisible Hack
In recent months, a tactic that has become more and more common is the “invisible hack”. What the hacker does in this case is put code into the site but have it not display when the page is rendered in the browser. However, this code is visible to search engines and hackers use this fact to their advantage.
By placing their links invisibly on sites, they are able game the system by gaining backlinks from high ranking sites that would not otherwise be possible. In fact, this exact thing happened to former US Vice-President turned environmental activist, Al Gore. His blog on the Inconvenient Truth website had Viagra and Xanax links placed invisibly in the source code!
The Repercussions
The danger to these hacks is two-fold. First, you are often not aware that your site has been disrupted at all. This leaves your site open to other attacks without giving you a forewarning or an opportunity to fix anything. Second, by having links to “bad neighborhoods” placed on your own site, it can drastically hurt your own search engine rankings.
Staying Safe
Make sure you check you keep a close eye on your blog for any suspicious looking code or activity. At the very least, look at your source now and do a quick search for common spam terms like “Viagra”. If your blog does get hacked, check out my article on recovering your hacked blog/site.
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