Govt officials, journalists to get advanced Gmail security features

Alphabet, a parent company of Google, said on Tuesday that it would provide stronger security for some users such as government officials and journalists.

It said the rolling out of the programme had become necessary as the groups were at a higher risk of being targeted by hackers.

The internet giant said users of the programme would have their account security continuously updated to deal with emerging threats.

Three defences against security threats, which include blocking fraudulent account access and protection against phishing, would also be provided.

The programme would include additional reviews and requests in the account recovery process to prevent fraudulent access by hackers, who try to gain access by pretending they had been locked out.

The rollout of a suite of new email security services by Google follows a 2016 US presidential election that was shaped in part by the disclosure of emails of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton that were obtained through phishing schemes.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that those hacks, which included a breach of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s personal Gmail account, were carried out by Russia as part of a broader cyber campaign to help President Donald Trump, a Republican, win the White House.

“If John Podesta had Advanced Protection in 2017, the world might be a very different place,” said Joseph Hall, chief technologist at the Centre for Democracy and Technology, who was briefed on the new features by Google.

Hall said the new features would grow the amount of high-risk consumers with strong protections against phishing campaigns, but that they would potentially create compatibility issues among some, who already integrate custom security tools with their Gmail account.