Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to explain that Google put out a statement to say there was no such alert. We regret the error.
(NewsNation) — Google has officially denied reports that it issued a mass security alert telling Gmail users to change their passwords, calling such claims “entirely false” in a statement.
NewsNation previously reported Google was urging billions of Gmail users to update their passwords and increase account security.
The increased threat of cyberattacks follows a recent breach of Salesforce’s cloud platform, which allowed hackers to access a database containing Google Cloud and Gmail users’ information.
The company’s protections “continue to block more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts from reaching users,” according to the statement.
“Security is such an important item for all companies, all customers, all users — we take this work incredibly seriously,” Google said
Although the data exposed in the breach was mainly comprised of publicly available information, and Google has emphasized its systems remain secure, the company warns that the hackers may be “preparing to escalate their extortion tactics by launching a data leak site,” the company said in a blog post.
Approximately 2.5 billion people use Gmail and Google Cloud worldwide, according to Fox News. Users are advised to be vigilant for suspicious emails from individuals claiming to be part of Google’s IT service or other related phishing schemes.