Ammon News - The FBI is warning the more than 1.8 billion people who use Google's Gmail about a dangerous ransomware scheme that could hold your private data hostage.

Medusa ransomware group has already victimized over 300 targets using phishing scams to exploit unprotected software in the users' digital devices.

According to the FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the scheme has been particularly devastating for critical infrastructure sectors, with employees in hospitals, schools, and major businesses falling victim to these attacks.

Medusa sneaks into computers by tricking people with fake emails or finding weak spots in their systems using malicious online content like phony websites.

Once it's in, it locks up all your important files so you can't open them, and also steals copies of them for the hackers.

After the victim's private data is essentially taken hostage, Medusa will demand a ransom payment of thousands or even millions of dollars to unlock the files and not leak the potentially embarrassing information to the public.

To prevent this ransomware from targeting you, the FBI and CISA are urging anyone using email services like Gmail to immediately start using two-factor authentication (2FA) - an added layer of protection which texts you a security code before logging into your mail.

They're also advising that the public and businesses immediately check their operating systems, software, and firmware to make sure they're properly patched and have the latest security updates. Daily Mail