You must have overheard security experts term the Shodan search engine the scariest and most dangerous search engine on the planet. The quest is, what makes Shodan different from the likes of Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines?
Shodan is a dangerous search engine not because of its name or founder but because of what it can do. Hackers often use this search engine to identify vulnerable systems and even expose infrastructure or databases.
For the record, this search engine isn’t a breeze to use. But if you can master it, you can use it to accomplish several tasks.
Here, we’ll explain what Shodan is and answer several pressing questions you might have about this search engine. Keep reading for more details.
What Is The Shodan Search Engine?
In a world of cyber security experts and hackers, Shodan is king! It’s a powerful and useful tool in the hands of hackers and cyber security experts.
The fact that hackers use Shodan doesn’t make it illegal. On the contrary, it’s legal and used across the globe.
Hacking is a crime. It doesn’t matter whether you attempted to hack someone’s device or did it anyway. Even an attempt to hack someone can land you in jail. It’s a serious offense under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
Shodan is one of the world’s most powerful search engines that can do scary and remarkable things on the internet. You can use it to search the web for any device connected to the internet.
Penetration testers use this search engine a lot. Why? Its starting point is good when scanning for online devices. When used efficiently, Shodan can help you find potential weak points in your network so you can fix the issues before cybercriminals do.
Why Is Shodan The Scariest Search Engine?
Shodan is more than just a search engine. It’s an advanced technology and the first of its kind.
The introduction of new technology is meant to make processes easier and not to scare people’s lives. Unfortunately, Shodan does both. It connects people to large amounts of useful data and provides detailed analysis of data.
Shodan is like Google but offers more. Google indexes surface web. Even Tor helps users explore the deep web. Shodan does something more intriguing and scarier. It allows users to navigate the internet’s shadows.
This search engine can list anything on the internet. Shodan can find the device or system connected to the internet.
It feeds on the vulnerability of systems, helping users to identify systems that are exposed, such as power grids. It can even detect an exposed doorbell, giving hackers the freedom to turn it on and off at will. That’s how powerful Shodan can be.
It gives users, both hackers and security agencies using it, an uncensored and unbiased view of the digital space. With this search engine, you can discover devices that exist online but are under the radar. It identifies the vulnerability of any device connected to the internet.
Is Shodan valuable to companies? Yes, it is. It’s useful and can also be their nightmare. How? As you know, every company on the planet bases their operation on digital systems. These include servers, IoT devices, and even databases.
Shodan is a nightmare to companies that are reckless with their systems. It can detect poorly configured systems, including the outdated ones.
This search engine can make any system that’s poorly configured or not updated to become public (on the internet). And when this happens, you’re inviting hackers to strike.
Shodan has been a popular tool for cybercriminals, who are always busy looking out for loopholes in systems to take advantage of them. We have heard cases of massive data breaches that damaged the reputation of several companies.
These cybercriminals do not care about the size of your company or the punishments they would face when caught. Their focus is inflicting pain on their victims with the hope of making more money.
Who Uses Shodan And Why?
We mentioned earlier that Shodan has its pros and cons. Professionals across diverse industries and even individuals use it for both good and bad.
Who are the main users of this search engine? Here they are below:
- Law enforcement agencies
- Scientific researchers
- Penetration testers
- Security agencies
- Cybercriminals
Cybercriminals use this search engine to perpetrate their evil acts. However, security researchers and even law enforcement agencies do the opposite.
A researcher once revealed that hackers had access to botnets. In other words, they can access a massive number of infected computers that are capable of performing the same act simultaneously. The scarier part about this botnet in the hands of criminals is that the infected computers function secretly.
How Dangerous Is Shodan?
With this search engine, nothing and no one is safe. The only way you can be safe is to keep your systems updated and follow other security measures.
This search engine isn’t called the most dangerous search engine on the planet because of its name. Rather, it’s because of what it can do.
For instance, imagine someone with bad intentions opens up his laptop, types a keyword in the search box, and boom, a list of industrial control systems or home cameras pops up.
Hackers can also do worse with the Shodan search engine. Imagine the damage they would cause if they had access to the nuclear control panel.
How Important Is Shodan In Cyber Security?
The answer to this question is as straightforward as the question itself. How does Shodan help in the fight against cybercrimes?
With this search engine, cyber security experts, law enforcement agencies, and even individuals can detect loopholes in their systems before cyber criminals do.
By detecting loopholes, such as outdated and improperly configured systems, faster, people can prevent cybercriminals from stealing their data or spying on them.
Cybercriminals aren’t magicians. They are humans that feed on the mistakes of companies, individuals, and government agencies. So, if you leave your system outdated or improperly configured, you have automatically left a backdoor for cybercriminals to strike.
Who Created Shodan?
John Matherly created Shodan in 2009. The tech guru called Shodan, the first search engine designed for internet-connected devices.
This search engine can scan IP addresses with ease. It scans the IP addresses for devices like webcams, routers, servers, and even industrial control systems.
Keeping your device well-configured and updated is important when using Shodan. Why? With scanning, this search engine can identify unsecured devices, services, and open ports in systems.
When a hacker uses this search engine to identify vulnerabilities in a system, they can also have access to entry points into the system.
Why Did John Matherly Create Shodan?
Shodan’s capabilities are the reason many users classify it as the scariest search engine. But the question is, was it designed to function in that manner? The answer is no.
Shodan’s intended usage wasn’t to gain unauthorized access to systems connected to the internet. Its intended usage was to give penetration testers the freedom to map organizations’ internet-facing assets and pinpoint vulnerabilities like outdated software and open ports.
So, the actual purpose of this search engine is to help companies improve their systems’ security. It does so by highlighting vulnerabilities in systems, giving experts the opportunity to act quickly and address the problems.
How Does Shodan Work?
Shodan operates like the Google search engine that we know but offers something different. It can search the web like Google but doesn’t index website content.
What does Shodan do if it doesn’t index website content? It scans the internet.
The reason it scans the internet is to look for devices that have open ports.
What happens when Shodan finds devices with open ports? In the hands of hackers, that could be a problem. But if the organization’s security team were the ones to spot the vulnerability, then they could react quickly by addressing it.
When Shodan finds the open ports, it does something no search engine can. It will capture information regarding the services running on the open ports. This process is regarded as “banner grabbing.”
After capturing the information, this search engine does something remarkable. It will organize the data into a detailed and searchable database. With that, users can use different search queries to identify specific devices, services, or vulnerabilities.
How To Open A Shodan Account
Besides Shodan’s main function, another thing that makes it different from Google and other search engines is the fact that users need to have an account on the search engine.
Signup is free but required to use the search engine. Here’s how to sign up.
1: Visit Shodan’s official page to sign up.
2: Create an account by providing the required details and email.
- Verify your account. A link will be sent to your email upon registration. Click the link to activate your account.
- Login to start using the Shodan search engine.
You will find everything you need on the search engine’s dashboard to navigate and utilize all the powerful features it has. The dashboard is where you can type your search queries, use filters, and more.
Is Sudan Free To Use?
The Shodan search engine is free, but not entirely. The Google search engine is completely free. That’s the difference.
The Shodan custom search option isn’t free. You also have to pay for a plan if you want to increase the number of searches you want to conduct per target. The lifetime payment is $49.
This search engine offers diverse paid plans with varied benefits. The paid plans include benefits like scan credits and an increased number of searches. Others include higher monitored addresses, search filters, and allowed search pages.
You can choose a plan that fits your budget and needs. However, it’s important to check the features included in each plan before making any commitments.
You’ll find the one-time plan that costs $49 monthly. There are other monthly subscription plans with different prices, such as $69 and $359, and there is a plan of $1099 per month. All of them have diverse features added to the plan.
What Can You Find With Shodan?
You can find almost anything with this search engine. That’s what is scary about Shodan. It’s the reason platforms like vice.com classify it as the most dangerous and scariest search engine worldwide.
You can find everything that’s connected to the internet with this search engine. These include refrigerators, smartphones, nuclear plants, and even camera systems.
This search engine scans the Internet of Things (IoTs). It conducts deep searches and produces results with information that security experts will find valuable.
For example, it can give you information like the device connected to the internet, including its location and user.
The Dangers of Using Shodan
In the hands of penetration testers, security experts, and government agencies, Shodan can be a powerful and valuable tool. But in the hands of hackers, it can be a very dangerous search engine.
So, it depends on whose hands the search engine falls into. But we all know the way it works suits what cybercriminals want. That’s why hackers are among the regular users of this search engine.
This search engine has the capability to track SCADA systems. Cybercriminals can even use it to compromise many countries’ security with the push of a button.
Conclusion
The Shodan search engine is the most dangerous and scariest search engine in the world. Security agencies, penetration testers, security experts, and cybercriminals use it.
This search engine is similar to Google’s search engine, but does things Google cannot. It can scan the internet and find vulnerable systems.
So, any wrongly configured or outdated system is at a huge risk. Shodan can expose the vulnerability to cybercriminals and even show them how to take advantage of the system.
In the hands of organizations, government agencies, and penetration testers, Shodan is a valuable search engine. It helps detect vulnerabilities in systems so they can be addressed before cybercriminals spot them.
