Search results for chrome extension vpn | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

A Google Chrome extension with a "Featured" badge and six million users has been observed silently gathering every prompt entered by users into artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots like OpenAI ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek, Google Gemini, xAI Grok, Meta AI, and Perplexity. The extension in question is Urban VPN Proxy , which has a 4.7 rating on the Google Chrome Web Store. It's advertised as the "best secured Free VPN access to any website, and unblock content." Its developer is a Delaware-based company named Urban Cyber Security Inc . On the Microsoft Edge Add-ons marketplace, it has 1.3 million installations .  Despite claiming that it allows users to "protect your online identity, stay protected, and hide your IP," an update was pushed to users on July 9, 2025, when version 5.5.0 was released with the AI data harvesting enabled by default using hard-coded settings. Specifically, this is achieved by means of a t...

A new attack campaign has targeted known Chrome browser extensions, leading to at least 35 extensions being compromised and exposing over 2.6 million users to data exposure and credential theft. The attack targeted publishers of browser extensions on the Chrome Web Store via a phishing campaign and used their access permissions to insert malicious code into legitimate extensions in order to steal cookies and user access tokens. The first company to shed light the campaign was cybersecurity firm Cyberhaven, one of whose employees was targeted by a phishing attack on December 24, allowing the threat actors to publish a malicious version of the extension. On December 27, Cyberhaven disclosed that a threat actor compromised its browser extension and injected malicious code to communicate with an external command-and-control (C&C) server located on the domain cyberhavenext[.]pro, download additional configuration files, and exfiltrate user data. The phishing email, which purported...

Google's Chrome web browser Extensions are under attack with a series of developers being hacked within last one month. Almost two weeks ago, we reported how unknown attackers managed to compromise the Chrome Web Store account of a developer team and hijacked Copyfish extension , and then modified it to distribute spam correspondence to users. Just two days after that incident, some unknown attackers then hijacked another popular extension ' Web Developer ' and then updated it to directly inject advertisements into the web browser of over its 1 million users. After Chris Pederick, the creator of 'Web Developer' Chrome extension that offers various web development tools to its users, reported to Proofpoint that his extension had been compromised, the security vendor analysed the issue and found further add-ons in the Chrome Store that had also been altered. According to the latest report published by the researchers at Proofpoint on Monday, the expanded ...

Researchers found critical vulnerabilities in three popular VPN services that could leak users' real IP addresses and other sensitive data. VPN, or Virtual Private Network , is a great way to protect your daily online activities that work by encrypting your data and boosting security, as well as useful to obscure your actual IP address. While some choose VPN services for online anonymity and data security, one major reason many people use VPN is to hide their real IP addresses to bypass online censorship and access websites that are blocked by their ISPs. But what if when the VPN you thought is protecting your privacy is actually leaking your sensitive data and real location? A team of three ethical hackers hired by privacy advocate firm VPN Mentor revealed that three popular VPN service providers—HotSpot Shield, PureVPN, and Zenmate—with millions of customers worldwide were found vulnerable to flaws that could compromise user's privacy. The team includes applicat...

Since most of us rely upon the Internet for day-to-day activities today, hacking and spying have become a prime concern, and so have online security and privacy. The Internet has become a digital universe with websites collecting your sensitive information and selling them to advertisers, hackers looking for ways to steal your data from the ill-equipped networks, websites, and PCs, and government conducting mass surveillance—every model has shifted to data collection. So, what's the solution and how can you protect your privacy, defend against government surveillance and prevent malware attacks? Virtual Private Network —Yes, one of the most efficient solutions to maximize your privacy is to use a secure VPN service. VPN serves as an encrypted tunnel between your computer and destinations you visit on the internet to secure your Internet traffic and protects you from bad guys getting into your network to steal your sensitive data. When choosing a VPN, Private Internet A...

News has been making headlines over the weekend of the extensive attack campaign targeting browser extensions and injecting them with malicious code to steal user credentials. Currently, over 25 extensions, with an install base of over two million users, have been found to be compromised, and customers are now working to figure out their exposure (LayerX, one of the companies involved in protecting against malicious extensions is offering a complimentary service to audit and remediate organizations' exposure - to sign-up click here ). While this is not the first attack to target browser extensions, the scope and sophistication of this campaign are a significant step up in terms of the threats posed by browser extensions and the risks they pose to organizations. Now that details of the attack have been publicized, users and organizations need to assess their risk exposure to this attack and to browser extensions in general. This article is aimed at helping organizations understand t...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered two malicious Google Chrome extensions with the same name and published by the same developer that come with capabilities to intercept traffic and capture user credentials. The extensions are advertised as a "multi-location network speed test plug-in" for developers and foreign trade personnel. Both the browser add-ons are available for download as of writing. The details of the extensions are as follows - Phantom Shuttle (ID: fbfldogmkadejddihifklefknmikncaj) - 2,000 users (Published on November 26, 2017) Phantom Shuttle (ID: ocpcmfmiidofonkbodpdhgddhlcmcofd) - 180 users (Published on April 27, 2023) "Users pay subscriptions ranging from ¥9.9 to ¥95.9 CNY ($1.40 to $13.50 USD), believing they're purchasing a legitimate VPN service, but both variants perform identical malicious operations," Socket security researcher Kush Pandya said. "Behind the subscription facade, the extensions execute complete traffic ...

The threat actor behind two malicious browser extension campaigns, ShadyPanda and GhostPoster , has been attributed to a third attack campaign codenamed DarkSpectre that has impacted 2.2 million users of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. The activity is assessed to be the work of a Chinese threat actor that Koi Security is tracking under the moniker DarkSpectre . In all, the campaigns have collectively affected over 8.8 million users spanning a period of more than seven years. ShadyPanda was first unmasked by the cybersecurity company earlier this month as targeting all three browser users to facilitate data theft, search query hijacking, and affiliate fraud. It has been found to affect 5.6 million users, including 1.3 newly identified victims stemming from over 100 extensions flagged as connected to the same cluster. This also includes an Edge add-on named "New Tab - Customized Dashboard" that features a logic bomb that waits for three days prior to t...

A new campaign named GhostPoster has leveraged logo files associated with 17 Mozilla Firefox browser add-ons to embed malicious JavaScript code designed to hijack affiliate links, inject tracking code, and commit click and ad fraud. The extensions have been collectively downloaded over 50,000 times, according to Koi Security, which discovered the campaign. The add-ons are no longer available. These browser programs were advertised as VPNs, screenshot utilities, ad blockers, and unofficial versions of Google Translate. The oldest add-on, Dark Mode, was published on October 25, 2024, offering the ability to enable a dark theme for all websites. The full list of the browser add-ons is below - Free VPN Screenshot Weather (weather-best-forecast) Mouse Gesture (crxMouse) Cache - Fast site loader Free MP3 Downloader Google Translate (google-translate-right-clicks) Traductor de Google Global VPN - Free Forever Dark Reader Dark Mode Translator - Google Bing Baidu DeepL Weather...

An unknown threat actor has been attributed to creating several malicious Chrome Browser extensions since February 2024 that masquerade as seemingly benign utilities but incorporate covert functionality to exfiltrate data, receive commands, and execute arbitrary code. "The actor creates websites that masquerade as legitimate services, productivity tools, ad and media creation or analysis assistants, VPN services, crypto, banking and more to direct users to install corresponding malicious extensions on Google's Chrome Web Store (CWS)," the DomainTools Intelligence (DTI) team said in a report shared with The Hacker News. While the browser add-ons appear to offer the advertised features, they also enable credential and cookie theft, session hijacking, ad injection, malicious redirects, traffic manipulation, and phishing via DOM manipulation. Another factor that works in the extensions' favor is that they are configured to grant themselves excessive permissions via...

Last week's cyber news in 2025 was not about one big incident. It was about many small cracks opening at the same time. Tools people trust every day behave in unexpected ways. Old flaws resurfaced. New ones were used almost immediately. A common theme ran through it all in 2025. Attackers moved faster than fixes. Access meant for work, updates, or support kept getting abused. And damage did not stop when an incident was "over" — it continued to surface months or even years later. This weekly recap brings those stories together in one place. No overload, no noise. Read on to see what shaped the threat landscape in the final stretch of 2025 and what deserves your attention now. ⚡ Threat of the Week MongoDB Vulnerability Comes Under Attack — A newly disclosed security vulnerability in MongoDB has come under active exploitation in the wild, with over 87,000 potentially susceptible instances identified across the world. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2025-14847 (CVSS score: 8.7)...

Cyber threats last week showed how attackers no longer need big hacks to cause big damage. They're going after the everyday tools we trust most — firewalls, browser add-ons, and even smart TVs — turning small cracks into serious breaches. The real danger now isn't just one major attack, but hundreds of quiet ones using the software and devices already inside our networks. Each trusted system can become an entry point if it's left unpatched or overlooked. Here's a clear look at the week's biggest risks, from exploited network flaws to new global campaigns and fast-moving vulnerabilities. ⚡ Threat of the Week Flaws in Multiple Network Security Products Come Under Attack — Over the past week, Fortinet , SonicWall , Cisco , and WatchGuard said vulnerabilities in their products have been exploited by threat actors in real-world attacks. Cisco said attacks exploiting CVE-2025-20393, a critical flaw in AsyncOS, have been abused by a China-nexus advanced persistent threat (APT) actor cod...

The North Korean threat actors behind the Contagious Interview campaign have been observed using updated versions of a cross-platform malware called OtterCookie with capabilities to steal credentials from web browsers and other files. NTT Security Holdings, which detailed the new findings, said the attackers have "actively and continuously" updated the malware, introducing versions v3 and v4 in February and April 2025, respectively. The Japanese cybersecurity company is tracking the cluster under the name WaterPlum , which is also known as CL-STA-0240, DeceptiveDevelopment, DEV#POPPER, Famous Chollima, PurpleBravo, and Tenacious Pungsan. OtterCookie was first documented by NTT last year after having observed it in attacks since September 2024. Delivered by means of a JavaScript payload via a malicious npm package, trojanized GitHub or Bitbucket repository, or a bogus videoconferencing app, it's designed to contact an external server to execute commands on compromis...

An extremely critical vulnerability has recently been discovered in WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) , an open-source standard that enables the browsers to make voice or video calls without needing any plug-ins. AFFECTED PRODUCTS Late last month, security researchers revealed a massive security flaw that enables website owner to easily see the real IP addresses of users through WebRTC , even if they are using a VPN or even PureVPN to mask their real IP addresses. The security glitch affects WebRTC-supporting browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, and appears to be limited to Windows operating system only, although users of Linux and Mac OS X are not affected by this vulnerability. HOW DOES THE WebRTC FLAW WORKS WebRTC allows requests to be made to STUN (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT) servers which return the "hidden" home IP-address as well as local network addresses for the system that is being used by the user. The results of t...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new malware dropper contained in as many as 9 Android apps distributed via Google Play Store that deploys a second stage malware capable of gaining intrusive access to the financial accounts of victims as well as full control of their devices. "This dropper, dubbed Clast82, utilizes a series of techniques to avoid detection by Google Play Protect detection, completes the evaluation period successfully, and changes the payload dropped from a non-malicious payload to the AlienBot Banker and MRAT," Check Point researchers Aviran Hazum, Bohdan Melnykov, and Israel Wernik said in a write-up published today. The apps that were used for the campaign include Cake VPN, Pacific VPN, eVPN, BeatPlayer, QR/Barcode Scanner MAX, Music Player, tooltipnatorlibrary, and QRecorder. After the findings were reported to Google on January 28, the rogue apps were removed from the Play Store on February 9.  Malware authors have resorted to a variety o...