Stay Ahead of Hackers: Google’s Urgent Warning for Gmail Users

On August 23, in a short and important message on the official Google Workspace updates feed, Gmail users have been told to turn on a feature called “two-factor verification.” Google is doing this to make accounts more secure. Additionally, a new alert system has been implemented to notify Gmail account holders of sensitive actions. In all, Google is doing this to keep the accounts of users safe.

Google’s Security Works for Specific Sensitive Actions in Gmail

Google has explicitly stated that this new security feature is designed for specific actions within Gmail. These actions include creating, editing or importing a filter. The second action involves adding a new forwarding address through post office protocols or internet Access Message Protocol settings. The third action refers to users who enable IMAP access status from settings.

What Occurs when a User Performs Sensitive Actions in Gmail?

Google mentioned that it will check the session that’s trying to do the action to figure out how risky it is. The exact way they do this isn’t explained in detail, which is reasonable. This is because they want to prevent bad people from tricking the system. But if they find that one of these sensitive actions seems risky, Gmail will show a message. This message will ask the person using the account to prove their identity more. To do this, they’ll need to complete another step that shows they’re really the account owner. This could involve doing something like putting in a code from an app, a text message, or a phone call, or using Google Prompts or a special security key.

If the user doesn’t finish this identity check, or if they make a wrong move that makes the check fail, a very important security alert will be sent to all the devices that the user has marked as trustworthy for that account. This alert lets the user try again to confirm if they did the action or not. If they didn’t, they can take steps to make their Gmail account safe.

What to Do if You Are a Gmail User

If you use Gmail like most people, you don’t have to do anything special to set up this new important security alert feature. If Google sees that a sensitive action, you’re doing might be unsafe, it will show you the verification message automatically.

But, Google suggests that if you haven’t already, you should turn on 2FA for your Gmail. This way, you’ll be ready in case you see such a message. Setting up 2FA is quite simple, and you can find all the steps here. Turning on 2FA is a smart security choice because it helps keep your Google account safe from bad people trying to take control.

Google suggests that administrators of Workspace accounts go to the help center. There, they can find out about the choices they have. One option is to temporarily stop the prompts that ask for login confirmation.

The new system is beginning to be introduced now, but it might take about one or two weeks before users begin to see those confirmation messages.