Google Drive is the latest target of spam attacks and the company has raised a clear warning for its users, asking them to be vigilant of possible intrusion attempts. Drive has usually been immune to these issues but it seems the popularity of the platform has made it a possible avenue for the hackers to push malware or try phishing attacks.
Google has been tackling the spam problem in Gmail for a while and recently it has laid down the marker to reduce and eliminate spam from your inbox. So how does Google Drive face the spam threat, what should users do to prevent and what Google advises people to do? Here’s a quick low down on all the details around this security threat.
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Google Drive Spam Warning: What You Should Know
The mode of the attack is similar to any spam version that you face on other platforms. The person sending the spam does it via a suspicious file. You will get a random request to accept a file that most likely comes from someone you know, but it is the attacker in disguise which makes it tough to tell if it is legit content or malicious. However, if you do end up opening or clicking on the file and downloading the same, chances are it might infect your device and be capable of stealing data.
Google Cloud has prided itself for the strongest encrypted protection but cases like these make it easy for the attacker to gain access to your device and all the data residing on it. The stuff that is stored on the cloud is usually well protected.
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Google Drive Spam Attack: How You Can Avoid
Google has a clear mandate to its Drive users that can secure them from all these forms of attacks.
– The company says you must not click on any URL or website link attached in a file which could offer backdoor access to the attacker.
– More importantly, it is better to just avoid downloading or accepting any file request that you are not expecting from a friend, family or colleague. Google recommends ignoring these requests and also reporting them to the company.
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– Interestingly, Google believes that just opening a file might be not always risky, and as long as you don’t interact with the attachment, i.e., click on a link or file, you should be fine.
Google claims it is looking to improve the safety layer for spams on Drive with the advent of these attacks but for now, users can fool-proof their account by staying away from unknown files, not accepting file requests from strangers and more.
