They were after Google’s Gmail accounts and its source code. Most laypeople assume hackers are after short-term payoffs: money, credit card information, or bribe-worthy medical information. But the most sophisticated attackers want the source code, the hieroglyphics created and admired by the engineering class. Source code is the raw matter for software and hardware. It is what tells your devices and apps how to behave, when to turn on, when to sleep, who to let in, who to keep out. Source code manipulation is the long game.
