State sponsored hacking from countries such as China, North Korea and Russia pose a threat to everyone, but Google, which has for years been monitoring hacking attempts by foreign governments, is notifying Gmail customers when Google has reason to believe that their Gmail accounts are being targeted.  If Google finds that you have been targeted you will receive the following message that takes up your entire screen warning you of the danger and urging you to use the more security dual factor authentication.  In its warning, Google indicates that less than 0.1% of all Gmail accounts are targeted, however, it is important to note that this percentage translates into more than a million people who are in jeopardy.

TIPS

As I have suggested many times, whenever you have the opportunity to use dual factor authentication, it is a wise choice to make because even if someone manages to steal your password or even trick you into providing it, as was the case with Jennifer Lawrence when she was convinced by a phishing email to provide her password to a cybercriminal who used it to access nude photos of her that she stored in the cloud, the hacker will not be able to access your email or other account because a special code provided to you through your cell phone is required whenever you wish to gain access to your account.

Finally, as I so often say, even paranoids have enemies so I urge you to err on the side of caution if you receive this type of notice and not necessarily trust it.  It could be a phishing communication from a cybercriminal luring you into clicking on a link which will either get you to provide personal information that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft or will download keystroke logging malware or ransomware.  The best course of action would be to merely go to Google directly from your browser without clicking on the link contained in the notification.  Here is a link you can trust that will take you to instructions for enabling dual factor authentication for Gmail  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185839?hl=en