Skip to main content

Google Admits to a Security Flaw Affecting 1.5 Billion of Users

 Google has finally admitted to vulnerability that has security repercussions for nearly 1.5 billion of its users. This security flaw was brought to the notice of Google two years ago by researchers at Black Hills Information Security. These researchers had claimed that vulnerability in Google Calendar app was enough for hackers to allow hackers to steal information from he computers of users of Gmail around the country. It is only now that Gmail support number is acknowledging the existence of this security flaw.

Google did not take any steps to fix this security flaw back in 2017 as it would have resulted in drop in functionality for the users of its Google Calendar app. This was despite the fact that these researchers demonstrated how this vulnerability could be exploited as a weapon by hackers to steal information from the computers of users of Gmail. At that time, Google said that its policy was to prevent spread of malicious content on the services offered by the company. But it is only now after 2 years that Google is taking concrete action on this security problem affecting billions of its users.

Google Calendar is an app that can be used by anyone to schedule a meeting with anyone else using Gmail. Google has built seamless integration with Google Calendar. Taking advantage of this integration, a hacker can send calendar invitation to another individual. He gets a notification that pops up on his mobile phone. Sender can easily include a malicious link in his message which could be anything from a poll providing financial incentive or an online poll with the participant required to provide his bank or credit card details. This security flaw opens up endless possibilities of phishing and social engineering attacks. If you are still unaware of how these attacks work, you can contact Gmail support number to learn more about them.

Now, 2 years later, Google has finally acknowledged that it is aware of the spam taking place in Google Calendar. It has also confirmed that the company is working diligently to resolve the security flaw. It is clear to everyone that close linking of Gmail and Google Calendar by Google inadvertently created a space for people with malicious intentions. Anyone can send a Calendar invitation to another person whether he knows him or not provided both are users of Gmail.

If anyone tries to take advantage of this vulnerability, he can easily send a fake invitation to another individual which would be likely to be clicked by innocent and gullible users.

As Google is yet to take any measure to prevent this possibility of phishing, you are still vulnerable to attacks from hackers. It is prudent for you to contact any reliable Gmail support service to learn a method to keep such Google Calendar invites at bay. The most basic method is to go to Calendar settings and then Event Settings. Now click on Automatically Add Invitations and choose the option of No to make sure you never get such calendar invitations.

more information: aim mail

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Tips on Data Backup & Backup Recovery

Data backup and recovery is of massive importance for any business irrespective of its size and nature. This is why any business owner should not dare to take this process lightly. Any lapse on the part of the company and it can lead to massive losses both in terms of business and lost clients. Whether you are doing it with the help of a service provider or your own IT department, you must ensure that your data is being backed up and its recovery is possible quickly in real time. Many business owners do not know a thing about data backup and recovery and they even do not know where to turn to when they needdata backup & backup recovery help. Backups done on a daily basis Data loss can prove to be a disaster for a company. All operations come to a standstill and there can be a deluge of complaints and cancellation of orders. There are different ways in which a business can avoid likelihood of data loss. Daily data backup is one of the best lines of defence is to go for. If data is b...

Microsoft Concedes Blue Screen of Death Windows 10

 Blue screen of death, simply called BSOD, is a problem faced by a large number of Windows computer users. This shutdown of the computer accompanied by a blue screen with an error message was very common with the older Windows 7 operating system. Microsoft promised no BSOD problem for the customers when launching Windows 10 a few years down the line.  Blue screen Windows 7  indeed became much less frequent with Windows 10 .Last month, Microsoft introduced a new update to Windows 10 operating system. Barely two weeks after the introduction of this version called 20H2 the company issued a warning to the users. In fact, there were not one but two warnings from Microsoft recommending users to revert to the older version of Windows 10 if they continued to experience   BSOD error   or asked to reboot after signing in. This move by the company seems to be a result of a flurry of complaints lodged by the customers about the infamous  Windows blue screen of death ...

Officejet Pro 9015e: Efficient All in One Printer From Hp

 Apple and Samsung have been working on unique foldable smartphones for a very long time. From the side of Apple, rumours are doing rounds that the company will introduce its foldable iPhone sometime in 2022. Apple has fallen behind in this race of concept design as Motorola and Samsung have already released their foldable concept smartphones. It is therefore only natural for loyal customers of Apple to get at least inside news on the progress achieved by the company on this front.  Apple support  has kept mum on foldable iPhone until now. It is only the reports from reliable designers that are credible sources of information for Apple fans On the basis of these leaks published in the form of sketches and photos, it can be said that Apple is probably working on a flip design for its foldable iPhone slated to debut in 2022. Imagine having a small iPhone that you open and the screen gets divided into two halves with the upper half carrying the clock and the lower half carr...