Tag Archive for: Gmail

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New Phishing Emails Now Evade Spam Filters

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How Attackers Turn Familiar Calendar Invites Into Security Threats

Written by Bill Seybolt, Senior Cloud Advisor, Cumulus Global

A new kind of cyber attack is reaching employee inboxes by hiding inside meeting invitations and notifications. Attackers turn routine calendar invites into phishing delivery tools that currently bypass email defenses. We’re seeing these invites arrive with phishing links disguised as new voicemails, document reviews, and informational videos.

Key Takeaways

  • ✓ Attackers route phishing links through real calendar invites to bypass email filters
  • ✓ Fake verification prompts build user trust before asking for account logins
  • ✓ Hidden guest lists and unfamiliar web addresses expose fraudulent invites
  • ✓ Regular security training and modern inbox defenses prevent account takeovers
The New Cyber Attack That Email Filters Trust

These notifications succeed because they’re authentic calendar invitations originating from valid Google Workspace or Gmail accounts.

Since the invite routes through Google Calendar’s infrastructure, email security tools view the traffic as authorized calendar activity. The interactive elements function normally, meaning that accepting an invite adds an event to your calendar, and clicking a meeting link opens Google Meet.

For example, this email poses as a Google Meet notification containing a new voicemail:

Calendar invite with embedded cyber attack

The invitation claims that a voice message is waiting for playback. The layout features functional Google Meet links alongside authentic calendar RSVP buttons. A telling warning sign appears under the attendee details, where the invite notes that the guest list is “too large to display.” However, this indicator is easy to overlook, and it is not uncommon for people in larger companies to receive invitations with legitimate large guest lists.

Think Twice Before You Click

Clicking the link redirects you to a convincing Cloudflare prompt asking to verify that you’re human.

Fake CloudFare Screen That familiar checkpoint lowers your guard, because team members associate security tests with legitimate cloud services.

After passing the verification challenge, the browser lands on a forged authentication portal that looks like this:

Fake Gmail Login Page

The page mirrors a standard Google login screen, prompting the user to submit account credentials to access the recording.

If employees don’t inspect the browser address bar, the deception succeeds.

The address displays an external domain rather than Google’s legitimate sign-in service, so submitting a username and password hands over full control of your Google Workspace account.

3 Steps to Guard Your Business

Although this method of cyber attack is tough to block, here are three steps you can take to lower your risk:

  1. Teach your team how to recognize these attacks. Share this post and show them what a legitimate web address and sign-in page look like.
  2. Subscribe to a Security Awareness Training service to keep your team updated on common and emerging cybersecurity risks.
  3. Upgrade your email threat protection to a platform that lets staff report suspicious invites directly from their inbox. The underlying system learns from reported attempts, helping it block similar campaigns before they spread.

How We Help Keep Your Workspace Secure

Protecting your organization against evasive threats requires a coordinated defense, especially when someone clicks a deceptive link by mistake.

If you’d like to evaluate your current defense or discuss how to protect your Google Workspace environment, book a brief, no-obligation, intro meeting with one of our Cloud Advisors. We’ll review your setup and help you decide on practical next steps for your team.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Our Cloud Advisors can help.

Schedule a conversation

Bill Seybolt

Senior Cloud Advisor, Cumulus Global

Bill helps small and midsize organizations adopt practical cloud solutions that fit their priorities and budgets. He works directly with leaders and teams to evaluate workflows, identify goals, and map out clear rollout plans. Having helped over 200 organizations successfully adopt cloud solutions, he turns complex IT decisions into clear, measurable business gains.

AI in Google Workspace – Gmail

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AI in Workspace: GmailGoogle Workspace is a comprehensive and secure platform that empowers organizations to be more productive, collaborative, and creative. This series explores the power of AI built within Google Workspace across each of the workspace apps. In this post, we cover AI in Gmail.

AI in Gmail

AI in Gmail lives in the Gemini Side Panel.  Gemini in Gmail is your productivity partner that can help draft, reply, sift through, and summarize your emails to save you time at your desk or on the go.

Features you should know when using the Gemini Side Panel in Gmail

The Gemini Side Panel is available when you are looking at your inbox and when you have opened an email or email thread. From the inbox, or at any time, you can:

  • Find specific messages or information in your inbox
  • Identify trends and topics
Draft Emails and Respond
  • Summarize an email thread. You can ask for a more or less detailed summary than the initial response
  • Draft an email based on keywords and the context of your inbox
  • Edit emails to polish your tone or change the length of your message
  • Ask Gemini to suggest a response to the email
Access Calendars and Events
  • Create events using your natural language requests
  • Search for calendar events by dates, participants, or subject
  • Request details about specific upcoming events
Access Files and Drive
  • Search Drive for documents related to the topic of an email thread
  • Use the “@” prompt to search for and add specific documents to your query

The “One-Click” features you should know when working in an email message

  • When viewing, the “Summarize this email” link gets you an instant summary of the message and thread
  • When composing a new email message, the “Write an email for me” link prompts you for information and drafts your message

We Will Help

At Cumulus Global, our priority is ensuring that you have productive, secure, and affordable managed cloud services. We work to ensure that you get the most value from the IT and cloud services you need and want, without overspending, to best support your business objectives.

Unsure of where to start? Check out our IT Assessment or schedule a meeting with a Cloud Advisor.

We will help you adapt while keeping your IT services secure and cost-effective.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Google+ Changes: What you need to know

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In December 2018, Google announced that the consumer version of Google+ is shutting down in April 2019.  As the usage lines between the consumer and business versions of Google+ have often been blurry, we want to clear up some of the confusion following the notices you may be getting from Google.

What is happening?
  • The consumer version of Google+ is going away.
    • If employees have setup Google+ accounts or communities not using their G Suite account, this content will be deleted.
    • If you have a Google+ circles or communities with “consumer” members, these users will be removed along with their content
  • You will no longer be able to create public communities outside of your G Suite domain.
  • The business version of Google+ is changing. You will no longer have pages, events, or the “tagline” profile field within the Google+ service.
  • If you cancel your G Suite service, all content in Google+ will be removed
What should you do?

The first step is to ask your users if they are using Google+ and, if so, how they are using the service.  If Google+ is not in use, no action is required.  If Google+ is in use, your next steps are determined by how you are using the service.

Google is updating the download tools for Google+ in March to include author, body, and photos for every post.  Once this is available, plan to download and save content you want to keep …

  • Posts from Google+ communities outside your G Suite Domain owned or managed by your users
  • Google+ Pages and Events of any type
  • Your Google+ tagline (download your profile)

In addition, you will want to:

  • Upgrade the Google+ Android app between Feb 22nd and March 7th.  After March 7, 2019, the current versions of the app will be unsupported.
  • Remove any Google+ gadgets from any classic Google Sites you may have
  • Have users opt out of the Google Play Services Public Beta Program to avoid issues with other Google apps, such as Email and Hangouts

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions.

 

Partnering for G Suite Productivity with Our Top 9 Tips

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G Suite productivity tipsGoogle Workspace (formerly G Suite) is more than an email, calendar, and simple file sharing service.  G Suite is a productivity suite that serves as a platform for a range of tools that helps your team, and your business, work more effectively. It is a cloud-based productivity suite developed by Google that includes a range of productivity tools and applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and more. See how you can maximize your business efficiency with our top nine G suite productivity tips and tricks below.

9 ways your team can be more productive with Google Workspace (G Suite):

  1. Share Files, Not Copies:
    Stop sending attachments. Stop wasting time figuring out if the copy of the file in your inbox, on your local drive, or on a shared folder is the most current. Whether you use Google Docs for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations or you continuing using Microsoft Office 365, Google Drive and Team Drives serves your files rather than just sharing them.  People share via link, so all comments, suggestions, and edits are made within a single copy of the file. Versioning keeps this orderly and gives you the ability to look back and compare.
  2. Serve Files, Not File Servers:
    Use Team Drives and Drive File Stream to provide users with “explorer” access to files from Macs, PCs, and local software. Store files under central ownership and managed permissions; avoid performance and capacity problems with unlimited storage. Allow team members to work remotely and securely on computers, tablets, and mobile devices without VPNs and remote desktop services slowing things down.
  3. Communicate, Don’t Just Text:
    Most laptops now have microphones, speakers, and Bluetooth features similar to your smartphones and tablets. Have face to face conversations using Hangouts Meet instead of long email threads, phone tag, or text messaging. Communication is 55% non-verbal. Let your employees see and hear each other, your vendors, and your customers. You can share screens to live document reviews and discussions. Why pay extra for a conferencing service?
  4. Collaboration, Don’t Just Comment:
    True, Google Docs allow contributors to comment and suggest edits. You can also collaborate in real-time or as each participant is able. Version history lets you look back at who contributed, when, and where. You can name versions to track official revisions or specific working copies of documents.
  5. Schedule Productivity, Not Just Appointments:
    Your personal and shared calendars track your time as well as project or team activities. Resource calendars let you book rooms or any scheduled resource. Integrated with Hangout Meets, automatically include voice and video conferencing for the human touch. Integrated with Chrome for Meetings and you have 1-click video conferencing with screen sharing in your conference rooms.
  6. Manage Customer Relationships, Not Data:
    Integrated CRM applications, automatically pull person and company data into your CRM records and automatically track inbound and outbound emails with your prospects. Side panel gives you “pane of glass” access and context from within your Gmail inbox.
  7. Manage Communications, Not Data:
    Integrated sales and marketing tools, empower you team to better manage marketing, sales, and service communications without leaving your Gmail inbox.  Templates, mail merge, and tracking save time and energy as you drive your sales pipeline forward.
  8. Automate Tasks, Not People:
    Automate workflows and repetitive tasks, and build simple apps to boost productivity with AppMaker. The Low-code/no-code tool means you don’t need a cadre of programmers. Free up task time for more valuable activities.
  9. Protect Your Business; Not Just Data:
    Compliant archiving and e-discovery covers your email communications and your documents. Integrated solutions provide third party backup/recovery protection from accidental or intentional damage and loss. Cloud-to-cloud backup is less costly and requires less admin effort than traditional file server protection services.

Get the most value from your G Suite platform:

Our final G suite productivity tips include actionable ways to help your team ensure its workflow is up to date.

  • Verify you are on the right version of G Suite, with the capabilities that best meet your needs
  • Help your team learn how to use the G Suite apps to their fullest
  • Integrate 3rd party solutions for line of business needs, such as marketing, sales, and service

Please contact us for a free Cloud Advisor session to discuss getting the most value from G Suite.

 

Tuesday Take-Away: Gain Control of Your Email – Inbox Zero Academy

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Email Overload is a Global Epidemic !

According to a recent McKinsey study, an average person spends 13 hours/week reading and replying to emails, a completely reactive activity, which is not part of anyone’s job description. What a waste of time!

The team at Sanebox has spent the last 5 years helping professionals fall in love with their email again. They’ve done a ton of research, talked to thousands of customers and compiled their findings into a series of bite-sized lessons. Most of them are extremely easy, while others will take some discipline.

Inbox Zero Academy is here to help you get to Inbox Zero every day!

Get 1 bite-sized lesson in your inbox every day, for 10 days. No more, no less.

Click here to sign up for the Inbox Zero Academy today.

For more information about Sanebox, our preferred Inbox Zero solution, click here.

 

Tuesday Take Away: Sanebox

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Sanebox and Sanebox for Business

In an ideal world, our inboxes would hold only those items we expect to be working on now. Unfortunately, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of email that comes in each day.

What if you could eliminate email clutter?  If you could …

  • Train your inbox to hold non-important emails for later?
  • Snooze non-urgent emails and have them return to your inbox later, at a time you choose?
  • Track responses and get notified when your email is not replied to by a certain date and time?

Now you can!

Sanebox and Sanebox for Business give you the power to manage the clutter in your inbox and create a more productive environment, across all of your devices.

Sanebox integrates with Gmail, Google Apps, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft Office 365.  Sanebox for Business gives users the power to manage their inboxes and gives businesses administrative control and a trackable ROI.

Learn more!

Click here for a 14-day Free Trial. Use Sanebox and see for yourself how it helps improve your productivity.

Read the Amazon best seller ebook, Outsmart Your Inbox: 25 Email Tricks for Busy Professionals

Watch the Sanebox video: “How it Works”

Interested in Sanebox for your business? Contact us to discuss plans and options.

 

 

5 Ways Google Apps Will Help Your Business

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Not just an email service, Google Apps is a business platform that enables efficiency and productivity by giving your team better communication and collaboration tools.

In less than 12 minutes, Cumulus Global’s CEO Allen Falcon identifies 5 ways that Google Apps will help your business.

1) Improved Communications

2) Collaboration — More and Better

3) Secure Access — from anywhere at anytime

4) Business Continuity

5) Lower Operating Costs — instead of CapEx + OpEx 

The video is a recording of Allen’s Standing Room Only seminar at the Central Mass Business Expo in September 2014.  Click Here to view the recording and contact us for more information and a free assessment of your business’ cloud potential.

 

 

The Google Apps / Gmail Breach That Isn’t

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News over the past few days that hackers have posted almost 5 million email addresses and passwords on an online forum has caught the media’s attention in large part because about 4.7 million of the addresses appear to be gmail accounts.

This is NOT, however, a breach of Gmail or Google Apps.  

The information appears to be from other sites and sources for which users provide their email address as their login.  In fact, several people that have found their address on the list report that the information is not their login information for Gmail or Google Apps.  As reported by Mashable, your risk is low.

Given it is not a Google Apps or Gmail breach, are you at risk?

Maybe!  Google has already analyzed the list and found some users that may be using their Google account password for other sites.  Google has notified these users and is forcing them to change their passwords. For the bigger picture:

If you use the same username/email address and password for all of your services, and one service is breached, then you are at risk of hackers gaining access to some or all of your services.

If a service is breached and you have granted the service access to your Google Apps environment, your data may be at risk.

Recommended Actions

Step One:  It is not easy, but avoid using the same password for multiple services, sites, or accounts.  And don’t write passwords down to remember them.

Step Two:  Be careful when and how you allow services to connect with one another.  For example, LinkedIn needs your gmail.com password if you are going to import contacts. While this may be safe to do, other services may not be as trustworthy.

Step Three:  Read and understand security permissions when you install apps on your mobile devices.  Many apps recognize and request access to other apps and services already on your phone.  Human nature is to say “grant” or “allow” without reading or fully understanding the implications, risks, or the trustworthiness of the app’s creators.

Note for Businesses, Governments, and Schools running Google Apps: Users installing 3rd party apps, particularly on cell phones, may be granting access to data stored in Google Apps.  To see if you have a risk, we offer a Google Apps Security Health Check that will document access rights and evaluate your level or risk, if any.  

Click Here for Information

 

7 Reasons Outlook Users Learn to Love Gmail

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One hesitation that business leaders have when deciding to move to Google Apps is how their staff will react.  People can feel attached to Outlook, as it is likely the work email client they have know for years.

While many employees already use Gmail personally, they may hesitate when it comes to work email.

Share these 7 Reasons why Outlook users learn to love Gmail and help your users make the transition.

  • Filters. Gmail has a thorough automatic spam filter. Employees can also set up individual filters that will opt out, unsubscribe from, and label superfluous messages, as well as organize emails that help individual productivity.  Unlike in Outlook, filters are not “local” to any system; they work regardless of the device used to access Gmail.
  • Instant IM. Google maintains the user’s most recent email recipients on a chat list, which is on the same screen as the inbox. With one click, Gmail users can start secure IM chats or initiate Google Hangouts.  Hangouts gives instant access to voice and video conferencing between individuals and with groups of up to 15 people.
  • Priority inbox. Gmail predicts which emails are most important based on what your employees have read in the past or have selected as important. Employees can also flag emails with a star as they go through them, which helps identify which messages are most urgent.
  • Labels. Instead of organizing emails into just one folder, labels allow employees to tag emails that fit into more than one category.  Labels work with Filters and Search, from any device.
  • Search.  Google is good at search.  Gmail leverages Google’s outstanding search functionality, allowing users to find emails with a quick keyword search.  While Outlook requires you remember where you saved your emails or use the clumsy advanced search window, Gmail searches across all Labels automatically, or refine your search to one or more labels.
     
  • Performance. Gmail doesn’t have the service hiccups that Outlook often has. Outgoing emails are sent quickly, incoming emails appear instantaneously, and inbox management requires no waiting.
     
  • Mobile. Employees can easily check Gmail when they’re on the go! Gmail has a dedicated mobile app that makes email messages easy to access on Android devices and iPhones.

 

3 Alternatives to Google Notifier

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GoogleNotifierInstall
Google Notifier is going away.  But, you do have options for see and preview new Gmail messages, and to receive Calendar notifications on the desktop.

To get started, uninstall Google Notifier before it no longer functions

Unread Email Count at a Glance

Install the Google Mail Checker application for Chrome to see your unread email count at a glance.

Desktop Gmail Notifications

You can setup Desktop Notifications in your Gmail account by following these instructions.

Desktop Calendar Notifications

While still in the Calendar Lab, you can enable Gentle Reminders, which will let you see calendar notifications from your desktop.  To do so:

1) Go to your Calendar’s settings > Labs > Enable Gentle reminders > Save.

2) Go back to the “General” settings page and make sure that “Show floating desktop notifications” is checked.