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Gmail Account Lockout Hack Has No Fix — Google ‘Looking Into’ It

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16 hours ago

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Updated December 7 with more information regarding managing a Google Account with Family Link, the parental safety feature that threat actors are abusing to lock hacked Gmail users out, seemingly with no fix available from Google to recover their accounts.

I write a lot about Google security, and that which involves the most popular free email platform on the planet, with 2 billion active users, Gmail, in particular. Sure, much of this will focus on the latest vulnerability alerts, and threat campaigns, as well as the occasional compromised Gmail passwords warning. I will always include advice as to how to mitigate the risk of any attack, much of which comes from Google itself. When I hear from readers that they are being locked out of their Gmail account by hackers and are unable to get back in, no matter what, that’s a concern. When Google informs me that it is “looking into it” and will issue specific guidance “in the near future,” that’s even more so. Here’s what you need to know about the Gmail hack attack that prevents you from regaining access to your account, and how to best protect yourself from becoming yet another victim.

ForbesHas Your Gmail Password Been Hacked? Check Now, Here’s HowBy Davey Winder

Hackers Lock Down Compromised Gmail Accounts Using Parent And Child Protections

As regular readers will likely already know, I entered the world of cybersecurity as a hacker in the 1980s. Hacking is not a crime, quite literally so back then, as there were no laws that specifically applied to the act of unauthorised network intrusion. Criminal hacking is quite another thing altogether. So, when I read about a Gmail user who had not only been compromised but found themselves locked out of their account with seemingly no chance of recovery, my hacker brain started to engage. How could this be, I wondered, given that there are so many ways to get account control back, even if an attacker has changed your password post-compromise. And then the chicken clucked, the bell rang, and the penny dropped: this was a very clever bit of hackery involving the use of a feature meant to protect accounts, not hold them hostage.

A Google user posted a plea for help to the Gmail subreddit that explained how an attacker had changed his age to 10 on his account profile and then added it to a family account under the attacker’s control. Ten years old being younger than the account had actually existed for, it is 12 years old apparently, might, you would have hoped, set off some Google alarm bells in these days of advanced AI protections, but no. By adding the compromised account to a family account and making it a child one, the actual owner found themselves totally locked out and unable to use any of the myriad recovery options provided by Google. The icing on this particularly smelly cake was that the attacker then demanded the victim send a bunch of gift cards to get the account released. “TL;DR: Account accessed, placed as a child in a Google family, and locked out,” the victim concluded, “please help.”

As the thread developed, others confirmed that the use of a child account is becoming a common tactic among hackers, and recovering from it appears impossible. “You would think that changing people’s date of birth on their accounts should require a forced re-auth and not be doable without providing all authentication factors,” one wrote, quite sensibly.

ForbesFBI Issues Critical Facebook, LinkedIn And X Photo Attack WarningBy Davey Winder

What Is The Google Account With Family Link That Gmail Hackers Are Exploiting?

Google’s support pages confirm that Gmail users can create a Google Account for their children, at least those who are under the age of 13, and then manage that child’s account using the family link feature. This ’supervised’ account gets access to Google search, the Google Chrome web browser and, importantly, Gmail email products. Adding a child account is simple: Open the Family Link app, select your child’s profile, add the child and follow the on-screen instructions. The parent can set up controls to aid with such supervision, and the child in question can choose to let the parent manage the account. Which is where the threat actors come in, as there are no children, only them. They choose, unsurprisingly, to let the supposed parent manage any and all child accounts, giving them full control over such things as Google Account information including, you guessed it, password changes. “If you change your child’s password,” Google said, “they get signed out from their devices.”

ForbesCritical Password Warning As Dangerous ‘Wrench Attacks’ ContinueBy Davey Winder

Google Is Looking Into Gmail Account Post-Compromise Threat

Perhaps the most astute comment in the subreddit thread was someone suggesting that Google had probably not anticipated such a situation. This does seem likely, although it’s a very unfortunate error if so. I reached out to Google to ask for advice for the victims of this hack attack lockout issue, and a spokesperson told me that the security team was looking into it as “a known post-compromise action some hijackers take.” Google stressed, however, that it is also a fairly uncommon one. I suspect, however, now that the tactic is becoming known in online forums, that more attackers will deploy it.

Actually, it may well be ‘uncommon’ but it certainly isn’t something that has just happened. I have managed to find online pleas for help from Gmail users facing the same family link, account now a child, lockout issues dating back a year or more. One would have hoped this might have been enough time for Google to start taking this seriously and perhaps be looking into it well before now.

“Look for more detail and specific guidance from us on this in the near future,” the Google spokesperson said, sharing the following core guidance for stopping account takeovers in the meantime:

  • Turn on two-step verification and adopt passkeys.
  • Double-check that only current/available phones or numbers are associated with accounts, and regularly review what devices are associated with them.
  • Set up recovery information, like a recovery email or phone number, or use the recently announced recovery contacts feature.

ForbesBeware The Pay-And-Spray Parcel Hack Attack This Holiday SeasonBy Davey Winder

It’s unclear at this time if the recovery contacts feature would be the answer to the issue of an attacker locking a genuine user out of their hacked Gmail account by changing their identity to that of a child and putting them under the parental supervision within the family link feature. That said, setting up the recovery feature would make a lot of sense in light of this new story and will help in many cases, even if it proves not to be the answer here.

The Recovery Contacts setting enables Gmail users to choose trusted contacts, family members or close friends to provide help if ever they find themselves locked out and unable to receive a recovery code. “It’s a simple, secure way to turn to people you trust when other recovery options aren’t available,” Google said at the time of the security measure’s announcement.

Remember, though, the best way to prevent an attacker from locking you out of your Gmail account in this way is to prevent them from compromising it in the first place. You know it makes sense, so get that Google passkey set up now. Using a Google passkey really can stop most account takeover attacks stone dead. “Google research has shown that security keys provide a stronger protection against automated bots, bulk phishing attacks, and targeted attacks than SMS, app-based one-time passwords, and other forms of traditional two-factor authentication,” a Google spokesperson told me. Passkeys are inherently more phishing-resistant because users cannot be tricked into handing over passkeys to a malicious actor, it really is that simple.

ForbesGoogle Chrome Security Alert: 3 Billion Users Must Update NowBy Davey Winder



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Zuma Resources Approves Asset Sale, Shifts Focus to Tech and EV Investments

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2 hours ago

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December 8, 2025

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Zuma Resources Limited (formerly Bilal Fibres Limited) has announced a strategic shift in its business direction, with the Board of Directors approving a new focus on investments and partnerships across technology, AI-enabled services, electric vehicles (EV), healthcare, e-commerce, and other sectors.

In a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the company said its board, at a meeting held on December 5, 2025, also approved the sale of land, buildings, plant, machinery, and other fixed assets.

The asset sale is being carried out in compliance with an order from the Lahore High Court to settle outstanding bank liabilities.

Additionally, the board approved the financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025, and authorized management to convene the annual general meeting on December 31, 2025.

Zuma Resources, which recently rebranded from Bilal Fibres Limited, said it will keep stakeholders informed of further developments as it pursues its new investment strategy and completes the court-mandated asset sale.





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Why Samsung Needs To Go Early

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6 hours ago

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December 8, 2025

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Update, Sunday Dec. 7: This article has been updated with details on Samsung’s three new Galaxy S smartphones.

2026’s smartphone calendar has the pivotal Mobile World Congress event running from March 2 to March 4. Countless manufacturers will debut new smartphones around the event. Samsung will be one exception, as it looks to launch earlier than the Barcelona parties. Why is it essential for the Galaxy S26 Ultra to be first out of the gate in 2026?

The Galaxy S26 Ultra Can Explain Its Own Path

The most significant advantage for Samsung is that Galaxy Unpacked is a standalone event. Unlike MWC, where launches and moments are stacked throughout Barcelona, Galaxy Unpacked is 100 percent Samsung. Not only that, but given Samsung’s size and the appreciation that the Galaxy S26 family are the elephants in the room, other manufacturers will actively go out of their way to avoid clashing with the South Korean company.

The knock-on effect of that is there’s no other consumer tech news, giving Samsung a clear run when pitching the new hardware and software to journalists around the world. When you have a raft of new products with complexity beneath the clean UI, you rely on stories from the event to explain the latest ‘invisible’ magic running in the background.

With others dodging the date, expect Galaxy Unpacked to dominate tech headlines in the days before, during, and after a launch early in the annual cycle.

Samsung’s OneUI Code Reveals Galaxy S26 Ultra Design

Update, Sunday Dec. 7:

No matter when the release date is, or what software is shipped, you need a solid smartphone to run everything on. The upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event should see three new handsets: the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy 26 Ultra.

This wasn’t always the case as a Galaxy S26 Edge was on the cards during the autumn months. Following disappointing sales, Samsung has reportedly moved back to the Vanilla/Plus/Ultra combination. Those reports have been backed up by one of the best sources possible… Samsung.

The latest build of OneUI 8.5 has been examined by the team at Android Authority (a public beta release for the Galaxy S25 family should be available before the end of the year). The code refers to three smartphones, the M1, M2 and M3, along with accompanying rendered images of the phones.

These match up with the leaked designs of the S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra. Of note is the use of a single camera island for three vertically aligned lenses across all three models (with two smaller lenses mounted away from the island for the M3-labelled Galaxy S26 Ultra).

The Galaxy S26 Ultra Exclusives

Previous Galaxy Unpacked events have first launched and then upgraded Galaxy AI, Samsung’s artificial intelligence toolset. At the 2024 Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung launched Galaxy AI with Google’s Circle To Search feature. It was exclusive to Samsung for several months before Google opened it up to the broader audience. But for the months after the launch of the Galaxy S25 family, and during MWC and the subsequent launches by other manufacturers, Circle To Search remained a massive point of differentiation in the market.

A unique feature, a window of exclusivity, and the opportunity to have it explained in depth across the press? What’s not to love about going early?

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Competitive Advantage

Ultimately, it has been Google that gets to ‘go first’ with new Android features, specifically with the Pixel series. Galaxy AI may have debuted at Galaxy Unpacked in 2024, but in Oct. 2023, Google announced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, labelling them the first AI smartphones.

Part of that saw AI services added to Android for all manufacturers to use, but Samsung was the first major consumer brand to step up and push AI heavily with the Galaxy S24 family. The company laid out a path that tracked Google to begin with (including the aforementioned Circle To Search exclusive) but also introduced Samsung’s own features, which have been steadily improved over the last two years.

Samsung set out to define what an AI smartphone would mean for the general audience. Any other AI-focused smartphone would be drawn into direct comparison with the Galaxy range, and with a lead in promotion and execution, the Galaxy was the yardstick. Samsung’s yardstick.

The same was true in 2025; Google opened the door with the Pixel 9, and Samsung roared through it with the Galaxy S25 trio. It screamed “this is the way forward”, and the smartphone world, once more, followed.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s First Mover Advantage

As we look towards 2026, Google has already made its key move for this generation with the headline inclusion of MagicCue, an agentic AI service that will proactively surface information from a phone’s content to support the user. When someone messages to ask where you are meeting later that day, MagicCue can find the restaurant reservation and add that into a draft reply, along with supporting information such as the address.

Last year, Samsung brought Now Brief and the Now Bar to the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy AI. This pulls in information from your phone, as well as external sources (such as weather or sports results) to offer relevant information throughout the day.

If Samsung were to make a big play with an extension to Now Brief that adds more AI smarts, more data, and more local processing, it would not only complement Google’s MagicCue approach but also mark it out as the feature to have.

It may not be this exact feature, but whatever it is, if the competition at MWC is running similar ideals, they’ll confirm Samsung as the leader in the space (at least to consumers). If the competition is looking elsewhere, there will be a point of differentiation, and Samsung will have had more time to establish its choice as the ‘correct’ one.

The exact date of the next Galaxy Unpacked is not yet confirmed. There is an air of expectation that it will be in late January, as opposed to a mid-February, that was being discussed in the fall. Whichever of those dates it takes, Samsung will still be ahead of MWC, which starts on March 2 2026, and will still have the first-mover advantage.

Now read the latest Android headlines, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra, in Forbes’ weekly smartphone news digest…



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AI Characters Fight To The Death In Microstreamer ‘Non-Player Combat’

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7 hours ago

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December 8, 2025

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Tom Paton, whose Where the Robots Grow was one of the first AI animated feature films, debuted a new AI generated series today, Non Player Combat. His small team in the UK has been building AiMation Studios around a pipeline for long form generative AI content and a companion iOS microstreamer for distribution.

Non Player Combat introduces six photorealistic contestants who are dropped on a remote island in a survival contest that blends elements of battle royale games and unscripted competition shows. Each contestant carries a detailed psychological history created by AiMation’s writers. It all seems very familiar except for one twist: they are actually going to kill each other, or die trying, and the writers don’t know who, or how, or where this will happen.

Once the simulation begins, the Ai characters make each decision independently. They may form alliances or forgo them as they hunt each other, avoid predators, and fight for survival. Paton describes the show as a mix of Naked and Afraid and The Truman Show, unfolding because the characters believe their circumstances are real. In Hollywood the log line would be: Hunger Games in Westworld. The production team does not plan outcomes. Episodes are edited from logs of the simulation. The first episode debuts December 8 on YouTube and on the AiMation VOD app, with additional episodes released weekly.

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Paton describes the approach as a hybrid of game development and documentary editing. “Every player has hundreds of pages of backstory. Childhood, trauma, love, crimes, philosophy. Their behavior emerges from that foundation. The AI takes those inputs and becomes the character,” he says. “We did not pick the winner. We did not pick who died and when. We created the psychology, not the plot.”

AiMation built the series with a five person team using its Omnigen workflow platform. The core reasoning system that controls the internal reasoning of the agents and governs moment to moment behavior was built in-house. ElevenLabs provides the synthetic voices. Seedance and other ByteDance models are the main generative AI models used in the production workflow. Paton says four episodes were completed in under two months at a reported cost of about 28K for the entire season. Traitors, a survival series with a comparable format, clocks in at one million dollars per episode.

The six contestants (four men, two women) in Non-Player Combat come straight out of a video game, consisting of a former Navy Seal, an egghead Chess champion, a hot influencer, a wilderness guide, the suicidal ex-con, and an a lethal martial arts. These not-quite human AI agents in Non-Player Combat don’t know they are AI. But we do. From the looks of the trailer the performances may be subtly uncanny, and have what I call an ‘AI accent,’ but that doesn’t matter. The agents don’t know they are AI, we do. That’s what makes this original, and dramatic.

We see AI animated characters everywhere now, and it seems like every other producer is working on some secret AI entertainment project on the down-low with “the studios.” If you like this sort of thing, there are thousands of responsive avatars waiting for you in places like Grok, Character.ai and Replikant. Showrunner’s Sim Francisco also follows AI animated characters, but the AI ‘animation’ of the characters is crude.

The characters in Non-Player Combat act with instincts inherited from a century of storytelling rather than written instructions, because of all the media the AI generators have been trained on. Paton believes the intended audience will absorb this without hesitation. “When they see the show and someone explains it is not real, it is AI, they will say who cares,” he says.

Paton says Non Player Combat is the beginning of a new AI driven entertainment format. “The future lies where the characters from the shows and films we watch are living their stories in real time, and it is those stories we are seeing edited down,” he says. The effect is unsettling and commercially interesting. Paton is marketing the series with a Gladiator line, a reminder of what entertainment has always relied on: spectacle. Are you not entertained?



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