Google adds Anti-Phishing feature also to Gmail app for iOS

To fight phishing attacks, Google has introduced a security measure for its Gmail app for iOS that will help users identify and delete phishing emails.

Phishing continues to be one of the most dangerous threats, crooks continue to devise new techniques to trick victims into providing sensitive information. The technique is still the privileged attack vector for financially motivated attacks and recent attacks reached a level of sophistication that made them phishing messages hard to detect.

The number of HTTPs Phishing sites continues to increase, it is the response of phishers to the improvements implemented by Browser-makers.

To fight phishing attacks, Google has introduced a security measure for its Gmail app for iOS that will help users identify and delete phishing emails.

“In May of this year, we introduced anti-phishing security checks in the Gmail Android app. We’re now bringing similar checks to the Gmail app on your iOS device. Going forward, when you click on a suspicious link in a Gmail message on your iPhone or iPad, we’ll show the warning below. We recommend that you use caution before proceeding because the link is likely unsafe. ” reads the announcement.

The feature, that will be available for everyone in a couple of weeks, will display a warning about potential phishing attacks when iPhone users click on a suspicious link.

Every time a user of the Gmail app for iOS will click on a link that is considered dangerous by Google, he will be displayed a pop-up, warning of the attempt of visiting an untrusted website.

Suspicious link
This link leads you to an untrusted site. Are you sure you want to proceed to example.com?

Even if the user ignores this first warning and continue, the Gmail app for iOS will display a second warning with more detailed information about the alleged bogus website.

Warning – phishing (web forgery) suspected

The site you are trying to visit has been identified as a forgery, intended to trick you into disclosing financial, personal or other sensitive information.

You can continue to example.com at your own risk.

A similar feature has already been made available in the Gmail app for Android since May of this year.

The new feature will help users to avoid phishing attacks, as usual, pay attention to unsolicited emails and never open attachment or click on embedded links.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Phishing, Gmail app)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.