You hear a lot of chatter these days claiming that hackers have managed to pull your confidential information out of Google. There will always be rumours like that floating around. THIS IS NOT A RUMOR.
Google wasn’t hacked. What happened is that hackers appear to have leaked accounts and passwords from over 5 million GMAIL accounts. This past Tuesday, in an online bitcoin forum called btcsec.com, a user with the alias “tvskit” posted an archive of over 5 million Gmail addresses and plain text passwords. Of these 5 million Google account passwords, about 1 to 2% are valid.
A number of industry security specialists have analyzed the information and concluded that many of the accounts are over three years old. They also believe that this security breach did not originate from Google, but from third-party sites where users use their Google accounts and Gmail credentials to access information. A number of the Gmail accounts listed came from Yandex.com, a Russian email service.
First Things First: Don’t panic. Only 1-2% of the leaked information can actually grant access to an account, so chances are, you’re not likely affected. That said, there’s no way to know for certain, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
You can take easy steps to ensure you’re protected from this sort of thing, and to re-secure your account on the off chance your information was included in the leak. If you think you may have been compromised, call BEC Technology Consultants now at (504) 282-2236, and we can help you take the right steps.
But Beware: There is a new site called isleaked.com claiming it can be used to validate your Google account to ensure it wasn’t one of the accounts compromised. This domain was registered two days prior to the Gmail leak went public, which is very suspicious. We are recommending that you do not use this site to validate your Google account.
So what CAN you do? The process is quite simple. Change your Google password immediately and enable Google two-step verification on your account. Google has published a blog to help setup your Google account securely.
Google recommends the following tips to safeguard your online services:
As your trusted IT company in New Orleans we highly recommend that you take all the required safety precautions to protect your online accounts, not just Google but ALL online services your business may use.
Have questions about your online security for your New Orleans business? Contact us today at (504) 282-2236 or customersupport@bectechconsultants.com to book a complimentary security review of your information technology. Our security experts know how cybercriminals work, and they’ll help you discover any vulnerabilities in your systems AND show you how they can be fixed.
Contact us right away and lets make sure you business is safe and secure.
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