Tech giant Google is facing an unusual ultimatum from a hacker collective that has demanded the firing of two of its cybersecurity leaders or risk a major data leak. The group, calling itself Scattered LapSus Hunters, claims ties to several well-known cybercrime outfits, including Scattered Spider, LapSus, and ShinyHunters. In a post, the hackers alleged that Google’s Threat Intelligence Group has been probing their networks, prompting their demand that the company remove the two executives. WION is withholding the names of the two employees over privacy concerns.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/gen-z-uses-ai-the-most-but-it-s-eating-up-their-jobs-disturbing-trend-of-ai-turning-from-assistant-to-replacement-of-young-workers-work-life-jobs-1756723332217">Gen Z uses AI the most, but it's eating up their jobs. Disturbing trend of AI turning from assistant to replacement of young workers</a>&nbsp;The threat comes shortly after Google confirmed that ShinyHunters had accessed data from Salesforce, a third-party service provider. While Google said there was no breach of its internal databases or consumer Gmail accounts, the attackers appear to be leveraging the incident for pressure. In response, Google issued a global security alert to its 2.5 billion Gmail users, urging them to reset passwords as a precaution. The breach did not expose passwords or private Gmail data, but it did include business contact information, which hackers are now exploiting in phishing and “vishing” (voice phishing) schemes.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/how-chatgpt-helped-recover-a-200-000-lamborghini-huracan-stolen-two-years-ago-1756714194154">How ChatGPT helped recover a $200,000 Lamborghini Huracan stolen two years ago.</a>&nbsp;According to Google’s Threat Intelligence team, 37% of account hijackings across its platforms now stem from phishing and social engineering attacks. Fraudsters are impersonating Google staff using the stolen contact details, sending convincing fake emails and in some cases even making phone calls to trick users into giving up credentials. Google has not responded directly to the demand regarding the two employees, but the company stressed in a recent blog post that its focus remains on “protecting users and strengthening defenses against evolving threats.”

Hacking threat? Tech giant Google issues global Gmail alert after hackers target security team

Tech giant Google is facing an unusual ultimatum from a hacker collective that has demanded the firing of two of its cybersecurity leaders or risk a major data leak. The group, calling itself Scattered LapSus Hunters, claims ties to several well-known cybercrime outfits, including Scattered Spider, LapSus, and ShinyHunters. In a post, the hackers alleged that Google’s Threat Intelligence Group has been probing their networks, prompting their demand that the company remove the two executives. WION is withholding the names of the two employees over privacy concerns. Also Read: Gen Z uses AI the most, but it's eating up their jobs. Disturbing trend of AI turning from assistant to replacement of young workers The threat comes shortly after Google confirmed that ShinyHunters had accessed data from Salesforce, a third-party service provider. While Google said there was no breach of its internal databases or consumer Gmail accounts, the attackers appear to be leveraging the incident for pressure. In response, Google issued a global security alert to its 2.5 billion Gmail users, urging them to reset passwords as a precaution. The breach did not expose passwords or private Gmail data, but it did include business contact information, which hackers are now exploiting in phishing and “vishing” (voice phishing) schemes. Also Read: How ChatGPT helped recover a $200,000 Lamborghini Huracan stolen two years ago. According to Google’s Threat Intelligence team, 37% of account hijackings across its platforms now stem from phishing and social engineering attacks. Fraudsters are impersonating Google staff using the stolen contact details, sending convincing fake emails and in some cases even making phone calls to trick users into giving up credentials. Google has not responded directly to the demand regarding the two employees, but the company stressed in a recent blog post that its focus remains on “protecting users and strengthening defenses against evolving threats.”

As per Google’s Threat Intelligence team, approximately 37% of account hijackings across its platforms now originate from phishing and social engineering attacks

For those users of Gmail who have not been accessing their accounts regularly, there is a chance that their accounts may get deleted soon. 
 
Millions of Gmail accounts stand at risk of getting deleted in December 2023. The aim is to deactivate all accounts that have remained inactive for at least two years. 
 
Google Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli wrote a blog post in May in which the company stated that steps are being taken to reduce the risk of account deletions. 
 
“Google is updating our inactivity policy for Google Accounts to 2 years across our products. Starting in December, if a Google account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, we may delete the account and its contents, including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), and Google Photos,” read the post.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-addresses-employees-working-in-israel-amidst-conflict-645218">Google CEO Sundar Pichai addresses employees working in Israel amidst conflict&nbsp;</a>

"This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user," Kricheli added. 
 
"Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have two-step verification set up. These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,” he further stated.

<h2>Who stands at risk?</h2>

The policy is only applicable to personal Google accounts not accessed&nbsp;in the last two years. Accounts of organisations like schools or businesses will remain unaffected by this overhaul.

<h2>How can you keep your Google account active?</h2>

As per the Google blog post, the best way to keep your Google account active is to keep signing in at least once every two years.

If you have recently signed into your Google Account or used any of its services, then it will be considered active and will not get deleted.

Watch |&nbsp;Google Meet's 'on-the-go' mode for meetings on the move feature

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/google-meets-on-the-go-mode-for-meetings-on-the-move-feature-655606/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

It is not necessary to read or send an email to keep your Gmail account active.

The users who have signed into their accounts for using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video or downloading an app on the Google Play Store and using Google Search, will also be considered active users.

(With inputs from agencies)

For those users of Gmail who have not been accessing their accounts regularly, there is a chance that their accounts may get deleted soon. Millions of Gmail accounts stand at risk of getting deleted in December 2023.

For those users of Gmail who have not been accessing their accounts regularly, there is a chance that their accounts may get deleted soon. Millions of Gmail accounts stand at risk of getting deleted in December 2023. The aim is to deactivate all accounts that have remained inactive for at least two years. Google Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli wrote a blog post in May in which the company stated that steps are being taken to reduce the risk of account deletions. “Google is updating our inactivity policy for Google Accounts to 2 years across our products. Starting in December, if a Google account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, we may delete the account and its contents, including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), and Google Photos,” read the post. ALSO READ | Google CEO Sundar Pichai addresses employees working in Israel amidst conflict "This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user," Kricheli added. "Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have two-step verification set up. These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,” he further stated. Who stands at risk? The policy is only applicable to personal Google accounts not accessed in the last two years. Accounts of organisations like schools or businesses will remain unaffected by this overhaul. How can you keep your Google account active? As per the Google blog post, the best way to keep your Google account active is to keep signing in at least once every two years. If you have recently signed into your Google Account or used any of its services, then it will be considered active and will not get deleted. Watch | Google Meet's 'on-the-go' mode for meetings on the move feature It is not necessary to read or send an email to keep your Gmail account active. The users who have signed into their accounts for using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video or downloading an app on the Google Play Store and using Google Search, will also be considered active users. (With inputs from agencies)

Google will delete millions of Gmail accounts. Here's how you can keep your account active

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Hacking threat? Tech giant Google issues global Gmail alert after hackers target security team

Google will delete millions of Gmail accounts. Here's how you can keep your account active