Gmail users victims of cyber attacks from China

Some Gmail users affiliated with the US government have been victims of cyber attacks from China. Google has automatically blocked these phishing attempts, but urges caution.

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) is calling on Gmail users to be very careful, especially those who are directly or indirectly affiliated with the US government. Phishing attempts from a hacker group APT31, originating from China, were spotted and blocked.

In February, the small group which has acquaintances with the Chinese government tried to trap Gmail users with phishing emails. However, Google announced that these emails were automatically put in spam. It is above all the important members of the American administration who seem to have been targeted.

Google blocked phishing attempts from China

Google obviously welcomes its protection but still calls on users to be careful. Cyber ​​attacks from China are not uncommon, since in 2021, the Mountain View firm announced that it had spotted more than 50,000 hacking alerts from foreign states, especially from Russia and China.

“Today we sent a warning to people targeted by these attacks supported by foreign governments. However, we have no evidence that this campaign is linked to the current war in Ukraine. »

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Note that since last year, Google warns users of hacking attempt via Gmail, even specifying when the attack comes from a foreign government. The fact is that the situation is conducive to such an operation at the moment. Last Monday, TAG reported, for example, that the Russian and Chinese governments attacked government organizations in Ukraine and the European Union, with both phishing attempts and DDoS attacks.

It is often the same small groups of hackers that are found in these attacks, as APT31 pointed out today. Microsoft had already accused this organization of computer attacks during the American elections of November 2020. If “ordinary” Gmail users do not seem to be affected by this threat, caution is still in order.

Source: BleepingComputer