The Empire is officially striking back, and hacking is about to get at least a little bit harder.
Recently, there have been several high-profile attacks that relied on Google’s user data, the most recent of which was a large-scale phishing attack which attempted to gain access to Gmail accounts by tricking users into clicking on a poisoned Google Doc file.

It’s been a bad week for the corporate world.

Things started off with a bang thanks to the “WannaCry” ransomware attack that targeted more than 200,000 company locations in more than 150 countries. Among other things, it brought the UK’s NHS to a complete standstill and idled auto factories in France, but hospitals and manufacturing facilities weren’t the only targets.

DocuSign, the world’s leader in electronic signatures for official documents, played an unwitting role in a particularly nasty phishing attack.

If you’re not familiar with the company, DocuSign is used by 12 of the top 15 US insurance companies, 12 of the top 15 US financial services companies and by most real estate agents, nationwide.

Phishing attacks are a fact of life on the internet these days, but recently, a Google Doc was used in a wide-spread, wildly successful attack that security researchers are calling one of the most advanced attacks of its class seen to date.

In fact, the attack was so successful, that in its aftermath, Google is rolling out additional protections to help ensure that the inevitable next attack doesn’t find the same level of success as this one did, which ultimately impacted several million users.

Google is throwing its weight around on behalf of the netizins of the world. Beginning this October, Chrome users will start seeing “Not Secure” warning messages any time they use Incognito Mode and venture onto a website that isn’t using a secure socket layer (SSL). The easiest way to tell the difference? Secure websites begin with “HTTPS” while un-secured sites begin with “HTTP.”

This is actually the second time Google has expanded their use of the “Not Secure” message.

Unless you are intimately familiar with digital security, odds are good that you’ve never heard of Snake, Uroburos or Turla. These are three different aliases used by a single group of sophisticated Russian hackers that have been operating since at least 2007. Security professionals categorically agree that this group is far more organized, and more dangerous than better known groups like Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear, two organizations believed to have ties to Russia’s Military Intelligence Service (GRU).

Not only are Snake’s tools more advanced and robust.

Does your company use IBM Storwize?

If you’re not sure what that is, then you probably don’t. It’s the company’s Big Data storage system, and when you purchase it, you get USB flash drives with initialization tools and installation files.

Researchers from Check Point Software Technologies have identified a new strain of malware dubbed OSX/Dok that has been found infesting macOS users. The new malware has been primarily found in Europe, and is being spread primarily via phishing campaigns, using emails spoofed to appear as though they’re coming from official sources.

Several months ago, a nasty malware attack caused quite a stir among Google Chrome users.

After a flurry of activity, it went dormant. Now, it seems to have returned, and this time, it’s targeting Firefox users. The basic form of the attack is unchanged, however.

If you’ve recently downloaded an app called SMAVova, you’re not alone. Between one and five million users have done the same. Unfortunately, that’s a problem, and to be safe, you’ll want to reset your device to factory defaults to be sure you’re rid of it.