Google warning users of “state-sponsored” hacks

It’s kind of all there in the headline but here we go. The search giant has begun issuing warnings to registered users when their accounts show evidence of being tampered with by a government body. Such users will get a message that says, “Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer.” Users in China have been receiving this message already, after being interfered with by the government there, which heavily censors the web.

CNN talked to a former journalist who is part of a Google group:

“So far about 10 of us have received the same message, some in Chinese, some in English,” she said. The group has about 200 members, she said.
“Some people are not even that surprised because they have suspicious followers on Twitter or Google,” she said.

The warnings are similar to ones Google has been sending out for a while when there’s evidence of someone trying to hack into accounts.