Searching for certain mental health terms online can unexpectedly lead to malware.
New research conducted by Beyond IdentityA passwordless identity management provider analyzed a large number of mental health search terms, many of which were at risk of encountering links leading to software that could steal data or damage devices and networks. was found to be high.
According to Beyond Identity, the term “meditation music” has resulted in significant risk associations. When searching for this term, users should be especially careful about downloading music for meditation practice.
None of the other phrases assessed by Beyond Identity yielded significant risk associations, but “psychiatrist near me”, “meditation music”, “virtual therapy”, “mental health services”, “ Psychiatrist Near Me, Meditation Music, ADHD Treatment, Breathing Techniques, Mindfulness Meditation, Anxiety Treatment, Depression Treatment, How to Meditate.
The report urges consumers to “be careful,” especially when searching for “meditation music,” “nearby psychiatrists,” and “virtual therapy.” Nearly a third of the top link results in these categories were high risk. malware.
Beyond Identity’s research focused on malware risks associated with job-related searches, but also broadly explored mental health terms.The latter turned out to be a tie The second highest malware risk of all categories was in searching for work-related training and courses, due to how bad actors actively try to exploit the well-being of people trying to find online content and resources. is shown.
To conduct the study, Beyond Identity selected popular terms with over 6,000 searches in the US last month. We then collected the results of the first 50 unsponsored links generated by Google Chrome and ran them through our malware detection tool. (Individual algorithms can affect which links rank higher in such searches.)
Links were flagged if the website blocked malware detection tools, used outdated software, or contained identifiable malware. Sites using outdated software or deploying malware detection tools can result in malicious code.
Simply visiting a malware-laden site can infect your device, clicking on malware-laden ads, interacting with pop-ups, or downloading infected media files, software, or documents It is also possible.
Panic-inducing malware infections are the last thing you want when searching for mental health information. When in doubt about search results, we recommend that you trust only trusted websites and health care providers.