The new Gmail feature launched by Google wo n’t have any cool audio recording alert cacophony out “ intruder alert ” , but it will alarm users when untrusting activity argue a likely via media of the e - mail account . Google hope to aid user combat e - mail fraud and identity theft with the new feature of speech .
Pavni Diwanji , Engineering Director for Gmail , depict the keep an eye on scenario in apost on the Official Gmail Blog . “ A few week ago , I draw an e-mail presumptively from a friend wedge in London inquire for some money to aid him out . It turned out that the electronic mail was sent by a scammer who had hijacked my friend ’s account . ”
Many small and intermediate businesses — as well as an increase routine of larger companies — trust on the Web - based Gmail as their primary messaging platform . A sharp wage hike insocially - engineered attacksand identicalness theft make Gmail chronicle compromise a quickly growing concern .
Google haslong had a security featurewhich expose the last login time for the explanation and whether or not the account is presently open in another position . That selective information should be sufficient for users to identify most compromise or suspicious activity , but ostensibly it is not overt enough and many users do n’t make up attending to it .
The novel Google approach shot monitor sure measure and considers a range of user behavior to attempt to identify activity which should produce red flags . Diwanji excuse “ To determine when to display this substance , our automate system matches the relevant IP savoir-faire , log per the Gmail privateness policy , to a unsubtle geographical location . While we do n’t have the capability to determine the specific localisation from which an bill is accessed , a login appear to come from one country and occurring a few hour after a login from another country may trip an alarum . ”
Diwanji summed up by reminding users to “ Keep in mind that these notifications are meant to alert you of funny action but are not a replacement for account security best practice . ”
That is sage advice — particularly for IT administrators , and small and medium businesses that swear on Gmail . The new leery natural action alert is a prissy characteristic , but it isnot a comprehensive defenseand does not enable customer to let their guard down . It is no silver bullet .
Businesses should ensure that users are aware of the new Gmail feature so they are not caught off guard if they see it . A process should be established for escalate the apprisal to direction , or respond to wary activeness warning signal .
By developing a plan for what to do with the entropy , businesses can capitalise on the feature to augment existing security controls and protect Gmail story from fraud and identity stealing .
