Sonakshi Sinha tops McAfee's most sensational celebrities list

A search for 'Sonakshi Sinha + Torrent' results in a 21 per cent chance of connecting to a malicious website

Kiran Rathee | New Delhi October 12, 2016 Last Updated at 19:30 IST

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Sonakshi Sinha

An online search for Sonakshi Sinha has very high chances of connecting to a malicious website as the actress and rapper has emerged as the most sensational celebrity in a survey conducted by McAfee for the year 2016.

Sinha, who replaced actress Priyanka Chopra to top the list, is followed by Farhan Akhtar on the second spot, Kareena Kapoor at No 3, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor shared their ranks at No 4 and Shraddha Kapoor follows suit at No 5.

The study, published by Intel Security, highlights the various ways hackers can take advantage of consumer interest around several facets of Bollywood cinema news and entice unsuspecting fans to visit sites loaded with malware that can steal passwords and personal information.

The McAfee most sensational celebrities study now completes a decade globally and has helped uncover pop culture icons including Bollywood celebrities that have generated risky search results, which could expose fans to viruses and malware while searching for the latest information online.

The study said a search for ‘Sonakshi Sinha + Torrent’ results in a 21 per cent chance of connecting to a malicious website.

Sinha topping the list highlights the trend towards Gen-Y celebrities becoming high value targets. Consumers are now, more than ever, streaming videos, and movies online. As file sharing and torrent use continues to grow in popularity, it’s no surprise that movies are a target for cybercriminals seeking to create malicious files.

“Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting consumers who access information-on-the-go, without considering the potential security risks online around celebrity interest,” Venkat Krishnapur, head of R&D operations for Intel Security’s India Development Centre said.

The study said with the increasing penetration of broadband, consumers rely on the internet to find more information such as award and TV shows as well as movie premieres, album releases, celebrity breakups and more.