Hackers love Ryan Gosling. Actually, hackers use his identify as bait greater than every other superstar. 

With that, the celebrated star of “Barbie” and umpteen different hit movies tops our Hacker Superstar Scorching Listing for 2023. It’s our annual examine that reveals which big-name superstar searches most frequently hyperlink to malware and dangerous websites. And this 12 months, we’ve developed the checklist. It now consists of celebs noticed in deepfake and different AI-driven content material. 

With Gosling’s excessive profile this 12 months, it comes as little shock that he ranked so extremely. As we reported earlier this 12 months, “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 Listing? 

Months later, searches for Gosling stay excessive. His portrayal of Ken has scored him a first-ever Billboard Scorching 100 music with “I’m Simply Ken.” In the meantime, Ken and Barbie outfits rank among the many hottest Halloween costumes for 2023. 

And should you’re questioning, Margot Robbie, who starred as Barbie to Gosling’s Ken, ranked quantity eight on our checklist. The total prime ten breaks down as follows: 

1. Ryan Gosling, Golden Globe winner and a number of Academy Award nominee.  
2. Emily Blunt, critically acclaimed actor and star of this summer season’s hit movie, Oppenheimer. 
3. Jennifer Lopez, popular culture icon, critically acclaimed singer, actor, and producer. 
4. Zendaya, critically acclaimed actor and singer.  
5. Kevin Costner, Academy Award-winning actor and director, and present star of the hit collection, Yellowstone. 
6. Elon Musk, enterprise magnate and tech entrepreneur.  
7. Al Roker, the “In the present day” present’s fashionable meteorologist, writer, and journalist.  
8. 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. 
9. Dangerous Bunny, multi-platinum album singer, and the primary non-English-language singer to be named as Spotify’s most streamed artist of the 12 months.  
10. America Ferrera, actor and famous supporting star of this summer season’s hit movie, Barbie. 

What’s in danger if you seek for these celebrities. 

The hackers behind these celebrity-driven assaults are after two main issues.  

• They need you handy over private data to allow them to use it to commit id fraud and theft. 
• They need to infect your system with malware. Which may embrace spyware and adware that may steal private data or ransomware that holds your system and its recordsdata 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 type. Once more, consider the “Barbie” film scams earlier this 12 months that promoted free downloads of the film — however after all they have been malware and id theft scams. 

Trying to find a star identify alone didn’t essentially result in a listing 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, reminiscent of film downloads, which places them in danger. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is and deserves a better look.” But hackers know the way hungry persons are for superstar content material, and sadly some folks 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 Listing? 

Additional rounding out the checklist, we discovered a number of huge names from sports activities and fashionable tradition. 

Argentine soccer participant Lionel Messi is available in at quantity 18 on the checklist, who not too long ago made the transfer to Miami’s Main League Soccer crew. 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 power 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 checklist. 

And for the Swifties on the market, Taylor Swift ranked 25 on our checklist this 12 months. 

Additionally making the checklist — 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 development is on the rise: deepfakes. For instance, Elon Musk. He hit quantity six on our checklist, and our researchers discovered a major quantity of malicious deepfake content material tied to his identify — typically linked with cryptocurrency scams.   

Taking a pattern set of the highest 50 checklist, McAfee researchers found between 25 to 135 deepfake URLs per superstar search. Whereas there are cases of malicious deepfakes, many superstar deepfakes fall into leisure or false promoting use circumstances proper now. Nonetheless, there may be rising proof that future deepfakes may flip misleading — intentionally passing alongside disinformation in a public determine’s identify. 

Staying protected whereas trying to find celebs — and on the whole. 

You’ve gotten each cause, 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 protected on the market. 

• Go along with retailers and web sites you’ll be able to belief. When it comes time to get your superstar information, search for names you recognize. Dependable sources which were round. The truth is that it’s not robust for hackers and scammers to rapidly spin up their very own (fully bogus) “superstar information” websites. Actually, it’s quite simple, thanks partly to AI that may generate phony articles that in any other case look actual.  

• Stick to respectable streaming and obtain companies. Whether or not you need to spin one thing from Taylor Swift’s newest album (Taylor’s model, after all) or stream motion pictures out of your favourite stars, use recognized and bonafide companies. Sure, typically meaning paying. Or placing up with just a few adverts. The unlawful alternate options may be riddled with malware or ask for private data that finally ends up proper within the fingers of hackers. 

• Don’t “log in” or present different data. If you happen to obtain a message, textual content, or e mail, or go to a third-party web site that asks for information like your bank card, e mail, dwelling tackle, or different login data, don’t give it out. Notably if there’s a promise for “unique” content material. Such requests are a standard tactic for phishing that might result in id 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 method, so you’ll be able to inform what’s actual and what’s faux. Second, internet safety appears to be like out for you when you search—figuring out malicious hyperlinks and even blocking them should you nonetheless click on one by chance. Collectively, that is a part of the total system, id, and privateness safety you get with us. 

Whether or not it’s Ryan, J-Lo, or Dangerous Bunny – you’ll be able to keep protected if you search. 

Hackers and scammers love driving the coattails of celebrities. By hijacking huge names like Ryan, J-Lo, and Dangerous Bunny, they dupe loads of well-meaning followers into downloading malware or handing over their private data. 

In fact, that’s no cause to cease trying to find these celebs. In no way. 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. 

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