he Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has identified five malicious Google Chrome Extensions that surreptitiously track online browser’s activities and steal their data.
According to NCC-CSIRT, the five malicious extensions which the McAfee Mobile Research Team earlier discovered are: Netflix Party with 800,000 downloads, Netflix Party 2 with 300,000 downloads, Full Page Screenshot Capture Screenshotting with 200,000 downloads, FlipShope Price Tracker Extension with 80,000 downloads, and AutoBuy Flash Sales with 20,000 downloads.
The five Google chrome extensions identified have a high probability and damage potential, have been downloaded more than 1.4 million times, and serve as access to steal users’ data. Part of the advisory from NCC
“These include removing all listed extensions from their chrome browser manually. Internet users are to pay close attention to the promptings from their browser extensions, such as the permission to run on any website visited and the data requested before installing it.
“Although, some extensions are seemingly legit, due to the high number of user downloads, these hazardous add-ons make it imperative for users to ascertain the authenticity of extensions they access.”
Google Chrome extensions are software programmes that can be installed into Chrome in order to change the browser’s functionality. This includes adding new features to Chrome or modifying the existing behavior of the program itself to make it more convenient for the user. They serve purposes such as block ads, integration with password managers and sourcing coupons as items sent to a shopping cart.
According to NCC-CSIRT, the five malicious extensions which the McAfee Mobile Research Team earlier discovered are: Netflix Party with 800,000 downloads, Netflix Party 2 with 300,000 downloads, Full Page Screenshot Capture Screenshotting with 200,000 downloads, FlipShope Price Tracker Extension with 80,000 downloads, and AutoBuy Flash Sales with 20,000 downloads.
The five Google chrome extensions identified have a high probability and damage potential, have been downloaded more than 1.4 million times, and serve as access to steal users’ data. Part of the advisory from NCC
“These include removing all listed extensions from their chrome browser manually. Internet users are to pay close attention to the promptings from their browser extensions, such as the permission to run on any website visited and the data requested before installing it.
“Although, some extensions are seemingly legit, due to the high number of user downloads, these hazardous add-ons make it imperative for users to ascertain the authenticity of extensions they access.”
Google Chrome extensions are software programmes that can be installed into Chrome in order to change the browser’s functionality. This includes adding new features to Chrome or modifying the existing behavior of the program itself to make it more convenient for the user. They serve purposes such as block ads, integration with password managers and sourcing coupons as items sent to a shopping cart.