Security Advisory

The University of Regina has received emails from Google Docs users sharing a malicious document. These emails can be difficult to block because they come from the generic Google Docs email account.

They can come from a Google Account made to look like a member of staff, but will typically have an external email address associated.

This style of phishing attack can be difficult to identify for users who often use Google Docs to share files and might be expecting similar emails.

The documents themselves aren't typically malicious but if the user doesn't recognize the document as being malicious, the linked pages can steal credentials or link to other types of malicious pages.

Simply ignore the request and delete the email; if the document is sent from an unknown address, you weren't expecting a document to be shared or the email seems suspicious.

If you are uncertain about the legitimacy of an email message, forward the email message as an attachment to the IT Support Centre for verification.

In addition, you can report any Google Docs document yourself by clicking the Google Docs "Help" Menu and selecting "Report abuse/copyright"