Google now displaying security warnings for state-sponsored attacks

Every day, there are more and more government-sponsored attacks on user’s computers and online accounts. This is of course bad news, and Google has recently rolled out a new feature that warns users when they may be under attack. The official unveiling of the feature on the Google Online Security blog is lacking in information on how exactly they determine if an attack is underway, saying that they “can’t go into the details without giving away information that would be helpful to these bad actors, but our detailed analysis—as well as victim reports—strongly suggest the involvement of states or groups that are state-sponsored.”

Warning message

If your account is potentially under a state-sponsored attack, Google will display this warning message

This new message is in addition to messages they also show about other attempts by third parties to access your account, but these new messages specifically state state-sponsored attackers.

While details on the detection are virtually non-existent, they do offer suggestions for those that do see the message. They recommend creating a unique password with a good mix of letters, numbers, and characters, as well as using their two-step authentication and keeping all of your software up to date.

[Google Online Security via The Verge]

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