The feud between Apple and the FBI over encryption rages on, as FBI is looking to break through the security of the iPhone that was used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino incident.
The FBI, however, has filed a motion to delay the planned March 22 hearing with Apple, as it said that an outside party has stepped up with a possible method to break through the iPhone's encryption without Apple's help.
The legal battle is the latest high-profile case on online security between tech companies and a federal government. Google, for one, is supporting the cause of making the Internet more secure for users, even against government activity.
Google, through a post on the official Google Security blog, revealed that it had improved the overall security of Gmail by providing more information to users on what is happening with their accounts.
One new feature coming to Gmail is a full-page warning that would alert users if Google suspects that they are being targeted by the government.
Gmail has been notifying users of possible state-sponsored hacking attempts since 2012, with the warning only appearing as a bar on top of the Gmail website. Google said that less than 0.1 percent of users have actually received the warnings, with these users mostly being journalists, activists or policy makers that are involved in sensitive issues.
The new full-page warning, which could replace or be shown in addition to the previous kind of notification, states more detail on the possibility that the government is targeting the user's account.
"There's a chance this is a false alarm, but we believe that government-backed attackers may be trying to trick you to get your Google Account password," the warning states, adding that if successful, the attacker could spy on users and access their data.
Google recommends users receiving this warning to enable two-factor authentication for their Gmail accounts, as well as set up a Security Key for added protection.
In addition to the new warning for government attacks, Google also improved its Safe Browsing feature in Gmail by issuing notifications for users that click links they receive in e-mails. Before, users will only receive the warning before they click on the link, but with the change, a full-page warning will be displayed to users upon clicking the link to give them one more chance to back out from accessing it.
