Gmail is well protected, claims of security vulnerabilities are baseless: Google

"Security is such an important item for all companies, all customers, all users — we take this work incredibly seriously. Our teams invest heavily, innovate constantly, and communicate clearly about the risks and protections we have in place," said Google.

Last weekend, a report emerged that there is a serious security vulnerability in Gmail affecting more than 2.5 billion users worldwide.

It was reported that Salesforce, which is said to be a client of Google Workspace, was the target of a sophisticated phishing attack. Further, it was reported bad actors may have misused the same security loophole to broaden the attack on regular users with Gmail accounts worldwide.

Now, Google has issued a statement rubbishing the reports of security vulnerabilities in Gmail.

"While it’s always the case that phishers are looking for ways to infiltrate inboxes, our protections continue to block more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts from reaching users," said Google.

"Security is such an important item for all companies, all customers, all users — we take this work incredibly seriously. Our teams invest heavily, innovate constantly, and communicate clearly about the risks and protections we have in place. It’s crucial that conversation in this space is accurate and factual," Google noted.

The company has advised Gmail users to shift from traditional password-based authentication to passkeys.

What is Passkeys?

Passkeys are a way better and safer alternative to passwords, as they give users peace of mind about their account’s security. They don't have to write it down in a secret journal or store it in a phone's digital notepad. Most importantly, unlike passwords, passkeys can't be stolen or guessed easily by cyber crooks to take over an online account.

Once the user enables Passkey on the device, he/she can log in to the account by choosing the Passkey option instead of entering a traditional password.

The device will securely connect with an online account, using the access key stored on the encrypted storage of the device to authenticate the identity.

The user can use FaceID or TouchID (fingerprint sensor) or the device's passcode to log in to the online platform.

All major platforms, such as WhatsApp, Apple, Google, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Windows, support Passkeys.

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