If you think the Russians are only targeting U.S. companies and the defense industry, think again. The cyber war between Russia and the U.S. has escalated since the President threw down the gauntlet on Putin, and the retaliation is to attack Gmail users in the U.S. Yes, Gmail users are part of the war.

According to Google’s research, last month, Russian hackers (APT28 or “Fancy Bear”) targeted around 14,000 Gmail users, which it claimed to be an above-average number of attacks in one month. Although 14,000 Gmail users is relatively small, it shows that hackers are sneaky and trying different techniques to gather information, disrupt users, and hop from one target to the next.

According to the alert from Google, “we detected government-backed attackers trying to steal your password…if they are successful at some point they could access your data or take other actions using your account.”

Google recommends that all users keep Microsoft Word up to data and open Microsoft Word documents with Google docs.

Photo of Linn Foster Freedman Linn Foster Freedman

Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services Cyber-Compliance Team, and chairs the firm’s Data Privacy and Security and Artificial Intelligence Teams. Linn focuses her…

Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services Cyber-Compliance Team, and chairs the firm’s Data Privacy and Security and Artificial Intelligence Teams. Linn focuses her practice on compliance with all state and federal privacy and security laws and regulations. She counsels a range of public and private clients from industries such as construction, education, health care, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, utilities and critical infrastructure, marine and charitable organizations, on state and federal data privacy and security investigations, as well as emergency data breach response and mitigation. Linn is an Adjunct Professor of the Practice of Cybersecurity at Brown University and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Roger Williams University School of Law.  Prior to joining the firm, Linn served as assistant attorney general and deputy chief of the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s Office for the State of Rhode Island. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law and her B.A., with honors, in American Studies from Newcomb College of Tulane University. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.