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Google informed senators of foreign attempts to hack their Gmails

By Daniel Uria

Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Google alerted an unspecified number of U.S. senators that foreign government actors attempted to hack their personal Gmail accounts.

Google confirmed it notified the senators after Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to Senate leadership about the email targeting in which he referred only to a "major technology company," C-Net reported.

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The company didn't provide further details on how many senators were targeted or where the attacks originated.

Both Republican and Democratic senators and their staff were targeted, a Senate aide told CNN.

Google also didn't clarify whether the attacks were successful, but noted a blog post on its website which states government-backed hacking warnings are sent "out of an abundance of caution" and reflects that a user has been targeted, not necessarily that they've been compromised.

Wyden said he plans to introduce legislation that would provide the Senate Sergeant at Arms to "provide cybersecurity assistance to Senators and staff, on an opt-in basis, for their personal devices and accounts."

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