The information technology personnel at the House of Representatives has cut lawmakers’ access to Google cloud-hosted software applications due to potential security threats, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Dustin Volz writes the House blocked devices used by legislators from gaining entry to the appspot.com domain, where Google hosts custom applications for use in congressional discussions.
The House implemented the ban on May 3 after FBI identified attempts to install ransomware onto the users’ computers through a trojan virus called BLT that the bureau discovered on appspot.com, according to Reuters.
Volz writes two individuals had already fallen victim to the malicious campaign after clicking on document email attachments, but the infected documents were recovered without paying ransom.
The ban on Google-hosted applications came on the heels of a restriction on Yahoo Mail after House authorities also warned of potential ransomware attacks through the service, NBC News reported Thursday.
Alex Johnson writes the third-party email attacks combine social engineering and phishing strategies to generate an infected email that appears to come from a trusted source.
