The hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow has released a tool that should make Google hacking a little easier for novices.
Called Goolag, the open-source software lets hackers use the Google search engine to scan Web sites for vulnerabilities.
This is something that hackers have been doing for years, but it can be tricky work– involving custom scripts and tools that sift through the mountain of data available via Google.
The Cult of the Dead Cow is best known for creating the Back Orifice software 10 years ago, which could be used to remotely control a Windows machine.
Like Back Orifice, the software could be used by both legitimate security professionals and criminals. Goolag comes with an easy-to-use graphical interface. It is based on techniques developed by Computer Sciences Corp. researcher Johnny Long, a well-known computer hacker who has spent years documenting the way that Google’s search engine can be used to uncover security vulnerabilities in the Web sites it indexes.
