CEM REPORT | Five malicious Google Chrome Extensions have been identified by the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT).
According to the NCC-CSIRT, the malicious extension discovered by the McAfee Mobile Research Team surreptitiously track online browser’s activities and steal their data.
The extension listed are Netflix Party with 800,000 downloads, Netflix Party 2 with 300,000 downloads, and 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.
According to the NCC-CSIRT in an advisory, the five google chrome extensions which have been identified to have a high probability and damage potential have been downloaded more than 1.4 million times and serve as access to steal users’ data.
“The users of these chrome extensions are unaware of their invasive functionality and privacy risk. Malicious extensions monitor victims’ visits to e-commerce websites and modify the visitor’s cookie to appear as if they came through a referrer link. Consequently, the extensions’ developers get an affiliate fee for any purchases at electronic shops.”
The cybersecurity protection team in the advisory stated that although the google team removed several browser extensions from its Chrome Web Store, keeping malicious extensions out may be difficult. Hence it recommended that telecom consumers observe caution when installing any browser extension.
“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,”
The Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence centre set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecom sector and as they may affect telecom consumers and citizens at large.
Google Chrome extensions are software programs installed into Chrome to introduce new functionality to the browser.
They serve purposes such as block ads, integration with password managers, and sourcing coupons as items sent to a shopping cart.
