Google starts notifying Gmail users over state-sponsored attacks
Your are not safe with your Gmail account. The attacks are coming from sources other than hackers. Now, even countries are sponsoring attacks on email accounts. Not only will Gmail alert you when there is a possibility your account has been compromised, they will splash a giant red stripe across the top indicating it may be executed by a foreign government enemy.
The problem is that many users will most likely believe that the attack was successful, while that is not the intention of the notice. It is only to alert the user that the activity was attempted. Your personal information is still safe, according to Google, unless you count Google’s abuse of your information into the formula. This is probably just a ploy to distract people from the notable abuses Google has perpetrated on its users across all Google applications.
However, according to Google VP of Security Engineering Eric Grosse, there are two triggers that are common. One is a phishing site, where they try to convince you to click on a link for some famous brand name, like Paypal or your bank, like Nordea. However, the link does not take you to the official site. It leads to a facade that allows the hacker to spy on you as you enter your user name and password.
It is curious that Google is sure enough to state that it is a state-sponsored attack. Yet, they claim that they cannot divulge how they know without tipping off the attackers to critical information that would allow them to hide that it is a state-sponsored attack. They claim that through detailed analysis, code for bullshit, they know the group is associated with the state. I say, So what! Who cares who the attacker is, unless it is our own government. Then we would all care. If it is China, though, the only one it matters to is Google, frankly.
Ok, so the second trigger is through an attachment to your email that delivers malware. Once infected, they can spy on your computer. Either way, they have got you.
Google has not been ignoring such activity. In fact, for a couple of years they have been identifying phishing sites and notifying webmasters, as well as indicating inside the browsers that you are on a phishing site.
Google is in an all-out war with China, since an attack infiltrated both Adobe and Google in 2010. There they used MSIE6 and PDF files to launch their attacks. They were in fact targeted attacks, aiming at people who either had sensitive information or access to a corporate network.
Even Apple has suffered an onslaught from Chinese hacking. One recent wave hit Mac OS X machines, originating in China.
Although Google does not indicate who the attackers are, the banner strikes fear into the user. Is Google faithful to its country? Earlier 2012 Google gave notice to the hackers behind a Russian malware that the U.S. was requesting access to their Gmail accounts to gain information about their activities.
Related Links: Google
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