Google: Chinese Government-Backed Hackers Targeting Gmail Accounts

Google through its official blog has come out to alert its users of the various security threats it iss facing. Among the threats highlighted are the phishing attacks which it says originate from Jinan, China. The attacks have targeted “hundreds of users including, among others, senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists.”

The main aim of the campaign seems to be espionage where the Chinese government wants to monitor the South Koreans government officials, American officials and also Chinese political activists. Google says that though they have disrupted the campaign and their systems are not affected, you must take precaution.

And here is the way Google thinks you can best secure your accounts.

• Enable 2-step verification. This Gmail feature uses a phone and second password on sign-in, and it protected some accounts from this attack. So check out this video on setting up 2-step verification.

• Use a strong password for Google that you do not use on any other site. Here’s a videoto help.
• Enter your password only into a proper sign-in prompt on a https://www.google.comdomain. We will never ask you to email your password or enter it into a form that appears within an email message. Here’s a video with more advice.
• Check your Gmail settings for suspicious forwarding addresses (“Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab, Fig. 1) or delegated accounts (“Accounts” tab, Fig. 2).

Fig. 1

 

Fig. 2

• Watch for the red warnings about suspicious account activity that may appear on top of your Gmail inbox.
• Review the security features offered by the Chrome browser. If you don’t already use Chrome, consider switching your browser to Chrome.
• Explore other security recommendations and a video with tips on how to stay safe across the web.

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