Cybersecurity company SOPHOS has alerted the public to a particular Google search query, 'Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?,' which has resulted in incidents of data theft.

Both the New York Post and SOPHOS report that searching this query exposes individuals to malicious links that appear at the top of search results, potentially jeopardizing personal data.

These links employ a dangerous program called Gootloader, which can steal sensitive information and lock users out of their computers.

This problem mainly impacts Australian users, as these harmful links surface when 'Australia' is part of the search.

SOPHOS emphasizes that this is part of a larger issue called 'SEO poisoning,' where cybercriminals enhance their malicious sites to appear prominently in search engine results.

Those who suspect they have been affected should promptly change their passwords to reduce risks.