All Gmail customers ought to change password instantly? Here’s the reality to viral claims

The information sounds ominous.

“2.5 billion Gmail users should change passwords,” the headlines warn, saying Google has issued an emergency alert to all its customers.

Not so quick, nevertheless. While Google and Gmail are sometimes focused by scammers, claims of an emergency alert are “entirely false,” the tech big mentioned.

Earlier knowledge compromises

In June, cyber criminals generally known as Shiny Hunters successfully breached Google’s Salesforce database that shops and manages buyer knowledge for small and medium-sized companies. According to Google, the breach didn’t compromise different merchandise, similar to Gmail or Google Drive, and no passwords or monetary knowledge have been uncovered.

That hasn’t stopped a number of experiences claiming all Gmail customers ought to change their passwords instantly because of the hack. Adding to the priority are experiences that scammers are contacting Gmail users in an attempt to get them to change their passwords. In these instances, scammers are using news of the Google hack to trick individuals into considering their accounts are compromised and they need to change their password over the cellphone or utilizing a hyperlink that’s despatched to them.

The new password is then obtained by the cyber felony who can take management of your account.

Emergency alert?

Google routinely advises people to change passwords and be vigilant about accounts however latest experiences of an instantaneous menace are false.

Here’s the entire Sept. 1 statement from Google:

Gmail’s protections are sturdy and efficient, and claims of a serious Gmail safety warning are false.

“We want to reassure our users that Gmail’s protections are strong and effective. Several inaccurate claims surfaced recently that incorrectly stated that we issued a broad warning to all Gmail users about a major Gmail security issue. This is entirely false.

While it’s always the case that phishers are looking for ways to infiltrate inboxes, our protections continue to block more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts from reaching users.

Security is such an important item for all companies, all customers, all users — we take this work incredibly seriously. Our teams invest heavily, innovate constantly, and communicate clearly about the risks and protections we have in place. It’s crucial that conversation in this space is accurate and factual.

As best practices for additional protection, we encourage users to use a secure password alternative like Passkeys, and to follow these best practices to spot and report phishing attacks.”

You can see the record of Google’s best security practices here.