California, United States – Google’s main database has been hacked.
The hackers were able to access the data of 2.5 billion users of the Gmail application.
The British newspaper, Daily Mail, reported on Saturday that a hacker group known as “Shiny Hunters” was able to infiltrate Google’s database, which is managed through a cloud area, after they deceived a company employee last June.
She explained that the hackers stole a huge amount of commercial files.
The files include company names and contact details of scientists.
However, Google does not believe that the passwords were included in the theft.
Since then, hackers have begun using this data to make fake phone calls and send malicious emails to customers.
All in an attempt to access their accounts and personal information.
Cybersecurity expert James Knight said that this hack could cause serious harm to any user who has a Gmail account.
The reason for this is that scammers pretend to be Google employees to contact customers.
He explained that many Gmail users received phone calls in which the caller claimed to be from Google, in addition to text messages with the aim of getting people to log in or share the password.
He explained that many Gmail users are on social media.
He said that scammers use numbers starting with the code 650 to make fake calls, in an attempt to deceive people and convince them to reset a password.
The expert advised anyone with a Gmail account to review it and update the password if it is weak or commonly used.
Knight recommends using the Multi-Factor Authentication option to add a layer of security to your Gmail account.
In addition to conducting a security check on Google to detect personal account vulnerabilities.
