'2.5 billion Gmail users at risk'? Entirely false, says Google

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• Google did not issue a warning about a major security breach.
• But hackers have been targeting Salesforce data in the cloud.
• Always be alert for phishing and vishing attacks.

Worried about reports that a major security breach has impacted your Gmail account? Well, apparently, those claims are much ado about nothing.

Also: How to encrypt any email - in Outlook, Gmail, and other popular services

"We want to reassure our users that Gmail's protections are strong and effective," Google said in a blog post on Monday. "Several inaccurate claims surfaced recently that incorrectly stated that we issued a broad warning to all Gmail users about a major Gmail security issue. This is entirely false."

Kernels of truth

Google did not cite any specific security issues that may have fueled the ...