Google confirmed it was the victim of a data breach after hackers from the notorious ShinyHunters group compromised one of its Salesforce databases using social engineering. The incident makes Google the latest high-profile victim in an ongoing extortion campaign, an awkward turn given the company’s expanding partnership with Salesforce.

• The oldest trick: The attack relies on classic voice phishing, or “vishing,” where hackers impersonate IT support staff over the phone. By tricking an employee, the group gains access to a company's Salesforce instance to steal data it can then use for extortion.
• In bad company: Google stated the damage was limited, with the hackers accessing only "basic and largely publicly available business information." The incident nonetheless places the tech giant on an unlikely victim list that now includes Adidas, Cisco, Qantas, and Chanel.
• Passing the buck: Salesforce maintains its platform is not at fault, insisting the breaches stem from employees being successfully tricked rather than any software vulnerability. The incident creates a strained dynamic for the two companies, which recently announced a partnership to integrate Google’s Gemini AI into Salesforce’s core platforms.

The string of high-profile breaches underscores that even for the world's biggest tech companies, the weakest link is often human, not software.

• Also on our radar: The hacking group behind the attacks has known ties to another cybercriminal collective called The Com. The campaign has also ensnared other giants like Coca-Cola, and for those looking to protect their own systems, Salesforce offers guidance on defending against social engineering.