Google News Misled by Hacked Telangana Government Website, Promoting Gambling Links

On Friday, November 8, 2024, Google News fell victim to a hack involving the Telangana government’s Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) website, hyderabadwater.gov.in. The site, which local residents use to pay water bills online, was reportedly exploited by hackers to inject spam and misleading links promoting online betting, rummy, and casinos.

While the exact timing of the hack is unclear, promotional links from the compromised site began trending under the Latest News section in Google News, particularly within the Technology category. Aside from a few unrelated links about gaming codes, most of the links originated from the HMWSSB website and redirected users to a betting platform, betwww20.com.

The incident highlights vulnerabilities in both the HMWSSB website and the Google News algorithm. Experts suggest that the hack may have involved a Structured Query Language Injection (SQLi) attack—a common method where attackers exploit weaknesses in a website’s database system by injecting malicious SQL commands. This type of attack can be used to manipulate or extract sensitive data, or even compromise a website’s server for further malicious activity.

SQLi attacks often involve automated tools that scan multiple websites, looking for input fields or forms susceptible to manipulation. Once a vulnerability is identified, attackers can insert harmful code to trigger unauthorized redirects or perform other malicious actions.