Latest news with #Workspace
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Google services crash today: Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Meet went down globally—what caused the outage and when it restored?
Google services outage today left millions of users around the world unable to access Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, and Meet. The sudden disruption began in the evening and caused major interruptions for students, workers, and businesses relying on Google Workspace. Users reported error messages, failed logins, and stalled file access during the crash. The issue peaked globally but was quickly addressed by Google. Services were back online within an hour. Curious what caused this rare crash and if it could happen again? Here's everything you need to know about the Google outage and what you should do if it hits again. Gmail, Google Drive, and Docs suddenly went down today in a rare global Google outage. Millions were locked out of their accounts, unable to send emails or open files. The crash hit Workspace tools hard—but services are back online. What caused it and could it happen again? Read full update. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What Google services were affected by the outage today? Gmail Google Drive Google Docs Google Meet Google Chat Workspace Admin Console Google Analytics Google Calendar (in some regions) When did the Google outage peak? What caused the Google Workspace outage? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads 'Elevated latency and error rates impacting multiple Workspace services.' Is Gmail and Google Drive working now? Time (UTC) Event 3:10 PM Users begin reporting problems 4:05 PM Google logs official incident 4:30 PM Outage peaks across platforms ~4:50 PM Google resolves the disruption Which countries were most affected by the Google outage? Top countries affected: United States – Thousands of reports came in from major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. – Thousands of reports came in from major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. India – Especially in tech hubs like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi. – Especially in tech hubs like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi. United Kingdom – London and Manchester saw heavy disruption to Gmail and Docs. – London and Manchester saw heavy disruption to Gmail and Docs. Canada – Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal experienced widespread access issues. – Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal experienced widespread access issues. Australia – Sydney and Melbourne users reported email and Meet login failures. Heavily impacted metro areas: San Francisco Bay Area, USA Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, India London, UK Toronto, Canada Sydney, Australia Were smaller regions or rural areas affected? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Slower loading times Partial file sync failures on Google Drive Lag or freezing in Google Meet calls Was the outage global or regional? What are the best alternatives to Google services during an outage? Gmail alternatives for email access: Outlook (Microsoft) – Reliable, feature-rich, and widely used for both personal and business communication. – Reliable, feature-rich, and widely used for both personal and business communication. Yahoo Mail – Still active and easy to set up quickly in emergencies. – Still active and easy to set up quickly in emergencies. ProtonMail – Privacy-focused and easy to access from mobile or browser. Google Drive alternatives for cloud storage: Dropbox – Known for fast syncing and great team collaboration tools. – Known for fast syncing and great team collaboration tools. Microsoft OneDrive – Seamlessly integrates with Office tools like Word and Excel. – Seamlessly integrates with Office tools like Word and Excel. iCloud (Apple) – Ideal for Mac and iPhone users needing file access on the go. Google Docs alternatives for editing and writing: Microsoft Word Online – Offers real-time editing and cloud sync like Docs. – Offers real-time editing and cloud sync like Docs. Zoho Writer – A clean, user-friendly online word processor with sharing options. – A clean, user-friendly online word processor with sharing options. OnlyOffice – Open-source suite that works well for both individuals and teams. Google Meet alternatives for video meetings: Zoom – Still the go-to for reliable video conferencing. – Still the go-to for reliable video conferencing. Microsoft Teams – Especially useful for businesses with Office 365. – Especially useful for businesses with Office 365. Jitsi Meet – Free, secure, and doesn't require an account. How many users were affected by the Google crash? United States India United Kingdom Canada Australia What should I do if Google services are still down for me? Clear your browser cache and refresh the page. Log out and log back in to your Google account. Restart your device if lag or error persists. Visit the Google Workspace Status Dashboard to check real-time updates. Use a different device or browser to confirm if it's a localized issue. How often does Google go down like this? What the Google outage means going forward FAQs Google services experienced a sudden and widespread outage today that disrupted Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Meet, and several Workspace tools for thousands of users around the 3:10 PM UTC (8:40 PM IST) on July 18, 2025, users began reporting widespread problems with key Google services. The major platforms impacted included:These tools are all part of the Google Workspace suite, which powers everything from personal productivity to corporate operations. The disruption left many users unable to send emails, open files, or join virtual issue appears to have peaked around 4:30 PM UTC, with a massive spike in error reports logged on tracking platforms like DownDetector and StatusGator. Social media also exploded with complaints from users experiencing delays, loading errors, or complete service has not released a detailed explanation of the cause. However, the company acknowledged the disruption via its Workspace Status Dashboard, describing it as a case of:The incident began officially on Google's internal monitoring system at, and it was resolved approximately. No hardware issues or cyberattacks have been reported at this to Google's latest status update, all affected services have been the official timeline of the outage:By, most users reported that Gmail, Drive, Meet, and Docs were functioning normally the Google Workspace disruption was global, outage monitoring sites like DownDetector, StatusGator, and real-time user reports on social media pointed to certain countries being hit harder than are the most affected countries during the outage:Yes, though the intensity was lower. Users in rural regions and Tier 2 cities in India, North America, and Europe also reported problems, though at a smaller scale. In many of these areas, users faced:The outage was global but not uniform. Areas with higher Workspace usage, such as business hubs and tech cities, reported more significant disruptions. Educational institutions and remote teams relying on Google Docs, Meet, and Classroom tools also felt the some users in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa reported no noticeable disruption, suggesting Google's server load balancing may have contained the worst impact to specific server clusters or data Gmail, Drive, or Docs go down, it can feel like your whole workflow is frozen. But don't worry—there are plenty of solid Google Workspace alternatives you can rely on to stay Google has not confirmed user numbers, tens of thousands of outage reports were submitted globally within minutes. The majority came from:Businesses running on Workspace experienced temporary halts in email communication, document access, and internal chat you're still having trouble accessing Gmail, Drive, or Docs, try these steps:In most cases, a simple refresh or relogin resolves lingering effects after such Google outages are. Google's infrastructure is designed for high availability, but occasional disruptions still happen—especially as services become more interconnected and reliant on cloud-based last major multi-service Google outage occurred in, affecting Gmail, YouTube, and Google Docs disruption is a reminder of just how reliant we've become on cloud platforms like Google Workspace for daily communication, collaboration, and productivity. While the issue was resolved relatively quickly, even—especially for businesses operating on tight of now,, and users should be able to access their emails, files, and meetings normally. If the company provides more details about the root cause, we'll update this article has not revealed the exact reason, but it confirmed errors affected Gmail, Drive, Docs, and all services have been restored and are working normally as per Google's latest update.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Warning to all Gmail users over new type of attack
A new type of email attack is quietly targeting 1.8 billion Gmail users without them ever noticing. Hackers are using Google Gemini, the AI built-in tool in Gmail and Workspace, to trick users into handing over their credentials. Cybersecurity experts found that bad actors are sending emails with hidden instructions that prompt Gemini to generate fake phishing warnings, tricking users into sharing their account password or visiting malicious sites. These emails are crafted to appear urgent and sometimes from a business. By setting the font size to zero and the text color to white, attackers can insert prompts invisible to users but actionable by Gemini. Marco Figueroa, GenAI bounty manager, demonstrated how such a malicious prompt could falsely alert users that their email account has been compromised, urging them to call a fake 'Google support' phone number provided in to resolve the issue. To counter these prompt injection attacks, experts recommend that companies configure email clients to detect and neutralize hidden content in message bodies. Additionally, implementing post-processing filters to scan inboxes for suspicious elements like 'urgent messages,' URLs, or phone numbers could bolster defenses against such threats. The trick was uncovered after research, led by Mozilla's 0Din security team, showed proof of one of the attacks last week. The report demonstrated how Gemini could be fooled into displaying a fake security alert, one that claimed the user's password had been compromised. It looked real but was entirely built by hackers to steal information. The trick works by embedding the prompt in white text that blends into the email background. So when someone clicks 'summarize this email,' Gemini processes the hidden message, not just the visible text. This type of manipulation, called 'indirect prompt injection,' takes advantage of AI's inability to tell the difference between a user's question and a hacker's hidden message. According to IBM, AI cannot tell the difference, as they both look like text, so AI follows whichever comes first, even if it is malicious. Security firms like Hidden Layer have shown how an attacker could craft a completely normal-looking message but fill it with hidden codes and URLs, tools designed to fool AI. In one of the cases, hackers sent an email that looked like a calendar invite. But inside the email, hidden commands told Gemini to warn the user about a fake password breach, tricking them into clicking a malicious link. Google admitted this kind of attack has been a problem since 2024 and said it added new safety tools to stop it, but the trick appears to still be working. In one case, a major security flaw reported to Google showed how attackers could hide fake instructions inside emails that trick Gemini into doing things users never asked for. Instead of fixing the issue, Google marked the report as 'won't fix,' meaning they believe Gemini is working the way it is supposed to. That decision shocked some security experts, because it basically means Google sees this behavior, not recognizing hidden instructions, as expected, not broken. This means that the door is still open for hackers to sneak in commands that the AI might follow without question. Experts are concerned as if the AI cannot tell the difference between a real message and a hidden attack, and Google would not fix the behavior, then the risk remains active. AI is getting more popular for quick decisions and email summarizer. It is not just Gmail as the risk spreads as AI is incorporated into Google Docs, Calendar, and outside apps. Cybersecurity experts say some of these attacks are even being created and carried out by other AI systems, not just human hackers. Google has reminded users that it does not issue security alerts through Gemini summaries. So if a summary tells you your password is at risk or gives you a link to click, treat it as suspicious and delete the email. In a recent blog, Google said that Gemini now ask for confirmation before doing anything risky, like sending an email or deleting something. That extra step gives users a chance to stop the action, even if the AI was tricked. Google also displays a yellow banner if it detects and blocks an attack. If the system finds a suspicious link in a summary, it removes it and replaces it with a safety alert. But some problems still have not been solved.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning to all 1.8b Gmail users over 'new wave of threats' stealing accounts… Do this NOW
A new type of email attack is quietly targeting 1.8 billion Gmail users without them ever noticing. Hackers are using Google Gemini, the AI built-in tool in Gmail and Workspace, to trick users into handing over their credentials. Cybersecurity experts found that bad actors are sending emails with hidden instructions that prompt Gemini to generate fake phishing warnings, tricking users into sharing their account password or visiting malicious sites. These emails are crafted to appear urgent and sometimes from a business. By setting the font size to zero and the text color to white, attackers can insert prompts invisible to users but actionable by Gemini. Marco Figueroa, GenAI bounty manager, demonstrated how such a malicious prompt could falsely alert users that their email account has been compromised, urging them to call a fake 'Google support' phone number provided in to resolve the issue. To counter these prompt injection attacks, experts recommend that companies configure email clients to detect and neutralize hidden content in message bodies. Additionally, implementing post-processing filters to scan inboxes for suspicious elements like 'urgent messages,' URLs, or phone numbers could bolster defenses against such threats. The trick was uncovered after research, led by Mozilla's 0Din security team, showed proof of one of the attacks last week. The report demonstrated how Gemini could be fooled into displaying a fake security alert, one that claimed the user's password had been compromised. It looked real but was entirely built by hackers to steal information. The trick works by embedding the prompt in white text that blends into the email background. So when someone clicks 'summarize this email,' Gemini processes the hidden message, not just the visible text. This type of manipulation, called 'indirect prompt injection,' takes advantage of AI's inability to tell the difference between a user's question and a hacker's hidden message. According to IBM, AI cannot tell the difference, as they both look like text, so AI follows whichever comes first, even if it is malicious. Security firms like Hidden Layer have shown how an attacker could craft a completely normal-looking message but fill it with hidden codes and URLs, tools designed to fool AI. In one of the cases, hackers sent an email that looked like a calendar invite. But inside the email, hidden commands told Gemini to warn the user about a fake password breach, tricking them into clicking a malicious link. Google admitted this kind of attack has been a problem since 2024 and said it added new safety tools to stop it, but the trick appears to still be working. To counter these prompt injection attacks, experts recommend that companies configure email clients to detect and neutralize hidden content in message bodies In one case, a major security flaw reported to Google showed how attackers could hide fake instructions inside emails that trick Gemini into doing things users never asked for. Instead of fixing the issue, Google marked the report as 'won't fix,' meaning they believe Gemini is working the way it is supposed to. That decision shocked some security experts, because it basically means Google sees this behavior, not recognizing hidden instructions, as expected, not broken. This means that the door is still open for hackers to sneak in commands that the AI might follow without question. Experts are concerned as if the AI cannot tell the difference between a real message and a hidden attack, and Google would not fix the behavior, then the risk remains active. AI is getting more popular for quick decisions and email summarizer. It is not just Gmail as the risk spreads as AI is incorporated into Google Docs, Calendar, and outside apps. Cybersecurity experts say some of these attacks are even being created and carried out by other AI systems, not just human hackers. Google has reminded users that it does not issue security alerts through Gemini summaries. So if a summary tells you your password is at risk or gives you a link to click, treat it as suspicious and delete the email. In a recent blog, Google said that Gemini now ask for confirmation before doing anything risky, like sending an email or deleting something. That extra step gives users a chance to stop the action, even if the AI was tricked. Google also displays a yellow banner if it detects and blocks an attack. If the system finds a suspicious link in a summary, it removes it and replaces it with a safety alert. But some problems still have not been solved.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Workspace posts lower first-quarter occupancy as large clients exit
July 16 (Reuters) - London-focused flexible office-space provider Workspace (WKP.L), opens new tab reported on Wednesday a drop in quarterly occupancy, as larger customers vacated its properties, and warned that another major customer's exit will lead to further decline in the second quarter. Workspace has seen property valuations decline since the pandemic, as businesses ditched larger office spaces and opted for hybrid work models. The company leased a monthly average of 93 new office spaces in the quarter, compared to 102 spaces in the prior year. The company, which leases space to small businesses ranging from fintech firms to podcasters and people using AI to write music, said like-for-like occupancy dipped 0.3% to 82.2% in the first quarter. Workspace has been disposing underperforming assets and investing in refurbishing other units to retain occupants. "We have made good progress implementing the pilot projects at two of our high conviction sites, Vox Studios and The Leather Market, to test capital-light, high impact upgrades to our product," CEO Lawrence Hutchings said in a statement.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Workspace braces for more large firms to ditch London office spaces
London flexible office provider Workspace is bracing for large firms to continue vacating, despite signs of midweek office work returning to pre-Covid levels in the capital. Workspace said it was focused on rebuilding occupancy and taking a 'pragmatic' approach to pricing. The London-listed company said it was still seeing larger customers vacating over the latest quarter, after previously warning investors over the retreat. This is set to continue over the coming months with the company expecting more businesses to ditch its buildings in Camden. Occupancy dipped by 0.3% between April and June to total 82.2%, Workspace said. The business has previously flagged that confidence among some of its customers has been weakened by wider economic uncertainty. It comes despite signs that midweek office work has rebounded – with property giant British Land recently saying occupancy across its estate had returned to pre-Covid levels in central London. Nevertheless, recent official data showed that 28% of the UK workforce remained in hybrid work, meaning spending some days at the office or at home. Workspace owns a portfolio of about 65 properties across London and the south-east of England, providing units to some 4,000 businesses. At the end of the latest quarter, rents totalled £138.6 million, down slightly on the previous quarter. 'As expected, occupancy declined slightly in the quarter and we have more large vacations to come in Q2 (the second quarter),' Lawrence Hutchings, Workspace's chief executive said. 'Our immediate focus remains on stabilising and, over time, rebuilding occupancy.' Mr Hutchings said it was taking action to 'retain and attract more customers', including refurbishments at some of its sites and targeting marketing efforts for local offices with fewer occupants. He added that the group had sold lower-performing sites, most recently in the Brentford and Ladbroke Grove areas, for a combined £15 million.
