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49 New Google Chrome Extensions Caught Hijacking Cryptocurrency Wallets

49 New Google Chrome Extensions Caught Hijacking Cryptocurrency Wallets

Apr 15, 2020
Google has ousted 49 Chrome browser extensions from its Web Store that masqueraded as cryptocurrency wallets but contained malicious code to siphon off sensitive information and empty the digital currencies. The 49 browser add-ons, potentially the work of Russian threat actors, were identified  (find the list here) by researchers from MyCrypto and PhishFort. "Essentially, the extensions are phishing for secrets — mnemonic phrases , private keys, and keystore files," explained Harry Denley, director of security at MyCrypto. "Once the user has entered them, the extension sends an HTTP POST request to its backend, where the bad actors receive the secrets and empty the accounts." Although the offending extensions were removed within 24 hours after they were reported to Google, MyCrypto's analysis showed that they began to appear on the Web Store as early as February 2020, before ramping up in subsequent months. In addition, all the extensions functioned a
Google Blocks Chrome Extension Installations From 3rd-Party Sites

Google Blocks Chrome Extension Installations From 3rd-Party Sites

Jun 12, 2018
You probably have come across many websites that let you install browser extensions without ever going to the official Chrome web store. It's a great way for users to install an extension, but now Google has decided to remove the ability for websites to offer "inline installation" of Chrome extensions on all platforms. Google announced today in its Chromium blog that by the end of this year, its Chrome browser will no longer support the installation of extensions from outside the Web Store in an effort to protect its users from shady browser extensions. "We continue to receive large volumes of complaints from users about unwanted extensions causing their Chrome experience to change unexpectedly — and the majority of these complaints are attributed to confusing or deceptive uses of inline installation on websites," says ​James Wagner, Google's extensions platform product manager. Google's browser extensions crackdown will take place in three ph
Making Sense of Operational Technology Attacks: The Past, Present, and Future

Making Sense of Operational Technology Attacks: The Past, Present, and Future

Mar 21, 2024Operational Technology / SCADA Security
When you read reports about cyber-attacks affecting operational technology (OT), it's easy to get caught up in the hype and assume every single one is sophisticated. But are OT environments all over the world really besieged by a constant barrage of complex cyber-attacks? Answering that would require breaking down the different types of OT cyber-attacks and then looking back on all the historical attacks to see how those types compare.  The Types of OT Cyber-Attacks Over the past few decades, there has been a growing awareness of the need for improved cybersecurity practices in IT's lesser-known counterpart, OT. In fact, the lines of what constitutes a cyber-attack on OT have never been well defined, and if anything, they have further blurred over time. Therefore, we'd like to begin this post with a discussion around the ways in which cyber-attacks can either target or just simply impact OT, and why it might be important for us to make the distinction going forward. Figure 1 The Pu
Google Bans Cryptocurrency Mining Extensions From Chrome Web Store

Google Bans Cryptocurrency Mining Extensions From Chrome Web Store

Apr 03, 2018
In an effort to prevent cryptojacking by extensions that maliciously mine digital currencies without users' awareness, Google has implemented a new Web Store policy that bans any Chrome extension submitted to the Web Store that mines cryptocurrency. Over the past few months, we have seen a sudden rise in malicious extensions that appear to offer useful functionality, while embedding hidden cryptocurrency mining scripts that run in the background without the user's knowledge. Last month, cryptocurrency miners were even found in a Russian nuclear weapons lab and on thousands of government websites . In January, cryptocurrency mining malware also infected more than half-million PCs . Until now, only those cryptocurrency mining extensions were allowed on the Chrome Web Store that are solely intended for mining, and explicitly informed users about its working and revenue model. If the company finds any mining extension developers submitted was not in compliance and secre
cyber security

Automated remediation solutions are crucial for security

websiteWing SecurityShadow IT / SaaS Security
Especially when it comes to securing employees' SaaS usage, don't settle for a longer to-do list. Auto-remediation is key to achieving SaaS security.
Google makes it mandatory for Chrome Apps to tell Users what Data they collect

Google makes it mandatory for Chrome Apps to tell Users what Data they collect

Apr 19, 2016
In Brief Chrome apps and extensions make things easier, but they can also do terrible things like spy on web users and collect their personal data. But, now Google has updated its browser's User Data Policy requiring all Chrome extension and app developers to disclose what data they collect. Furthermore, developers are prohibited from collecting unnecessary browsing data and must also use encryption when handling sensitive information from users. Around 40 percent of all Google Chrome users have some kind of browser extensions, plugins or add-ons installed, but how safe are they? The company plans to enforce developers starting this summer, to "ensure transparent use of the data in a way that is consistent with the wishes and expectations of users." Google is making its Chrome Web Store safer for its users by forcing developers to disclose how they handle customers' data. Google's new User Data Policy will now force app developers, who use the Chrome We
Firefox to block all plugins by Default in upcoming release, except Whitelist plugins

Firefox to block all plugins by Default in upcoming release, except Whitelist plugins

Mar 03, 2014
The Mozilla Firefox web browser is used by roughly 30% of all Internet users and the company is seriously concerned about the Security of its users for many years. To Improve the Stability, Security and performance of Firefox web browser , Mozilla announced back in  2013 that it planned to enable ' Click to Play ' feature in upcoming Firefox versions, which will block most vulnerable plugins like Java by default. " Plugins are a significant source of poor performance, crashes and security vulnerabilities ", Mozilla said . The Feature ' Click to play ' blocks the execution of all plugins automatically, though this feature was annoying to the users, so to prevent all plugins from default blocking, Mozilla announced to maintain a whitelist of approved plugins. "By allowing users to decide which sites need to use plugins, Firefox will help protect them and keep their browser running smoothly." ~Benjamin Smedberg, Engineering Manager. Plugin authors ca
Malicious Pinterest browser plugin stealing passwords and spreading spam

Malicious Pinterest browser plugin stealing passwords and spreading spam

Jul 11, 2013
Social networking sites are unfortunately now major interest to malicious cyber criminals, spreading malware and building botnet army to steal money direct from your keyboards. Janne Ahlberg, a security professional from Finland found and analysed an interesting piece of malicious code, offered as browser plugin, and infecting system to steal passwords from user's browser and also modifies the original Pinterest Pins links to spam with malicious links automatically. A diet spam on Pinterest redirecting users to a malicious site with domain name  pinteresf.org , plausible-looking domain name, like original Pinterest with similar appearance. On page load, it triggers a pop up message to all incoming visitors, offering to download " Pinterest Tool " as shown in screenshots " To continue, install our Pinterest Tool and enjoy more features of our site. " Janne's investigation claims that, this fake site offering a fake malware loaded browser plugin, harvesting passwords from us
New Mac OS X adware Trojan spreading via browser plugin

New Mac OS X adware Trojan spreading via browser plugin

Mar 20, 2013
Russian anti-virus company Doctor Web reports that a new Mac OS X adware Trojan spreading itself via crafted movie trailer pages that prompt users to install a browser plugin. Basically, an adware is any software package which automatically renders advertisements in order to generate revenue for its author. Dubbed as ' Trojan.Yontoo.1 ', Attackers have provided a number of alternative ways to spread the threat. The Trojan can also be downloaded as a media player, a video quality enhancement program or a download accelerator. When victim visits the site, the dialogue only imitates the traditional plate and specially designed by hackers to enter a potential victim of misleading. After pressing the « Install the plug-in » victim is redirected to the site to download malware. When launched, Trojan.Yontoo.1 displays a dialogue window that asks the user if they want to install Free Twit Tube. after the user presses ' Continue ', instead of the promised program, the
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