The cybersecurity company SOPHOS has issued a caution concerning a particular Google search query, 'Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?', which has resulted in incidents of data theft.

According to reports from the New York Post and SOPHOS, people who search this query are at risk of encountering malicious links that may appear at the top of search results, potentially exposing their personal information.

These links exploit a malicious software known as Gootloader, which can steal sensitive data and lock users out of their computers.

This problem primarily impacts Australian users, as the malicious links show up when 'Australia' is included in the search terms.

SOPHOS points out that this is part of a wider trend called 'SEO poisoning', where cybercriminals enhance their harmful websites to rank prominently in search engine results.

Anyone who suspects they may have been affected should promptly change their passwords to reduce potential risks.