It started with a few flashy tools and productivity boosters. Maybe a weather widget, a coupon finder, or a “must-have” email helper. But behind the scenes, millions of users were being watched—and most had no idea.
If you or your team use Google Chrome, it’s time for a serious extension audit.
The Problem: 57 Chrome Extensions, 6 Million Users, and Zero Warnings
In April 2025, cybersecurity researchers uncovered a collection of 57 Chrome extensions that had been silently accumulating user data from over 6 million installs. These weren’t obviously shady tools downloaded from back-alley websites. They were sitting in the official Chrome Web Store—easily accessible, highly rated, and in some cases, widely recommended.
And yet, these extensions were capable of:
- Monitoring browsing activity in real-time
- Harvesting cookies from domains you visit (yes, even the secure ones)
- Injecting remote scripts into web pages without your knowledge
That’s not a harmless little toolbar—it’s a spy living inside your browser.
Wait—How Did This Happen?
Chrome extensions, by nature, are incredibly powerful. Once installed, they can request access to nearly anything in your browser: what sites you visit, what you click on, even the login tokens that keep you signed in.
Some of these 57 extensions were found to be “trojanized” over time—starting out clean, then later updated with malicious features once they gained user trust. Others were outright malicious from the start but masked their true intent behind generic functionality like form filling or tab management.
The worst part? Google didn’t flag these as malicious until after researchers reported them.
Why This Is a Business Problem (Not Just a Browser Problem)
Think of your business devices for a second. How many employees use Chrome? How many extensions have they installed? You probably don’t know. Most companies don’t.
But if just one of those extensions had access to cookies, it could potentially expose logins to your email, CRM, or file storage. That’s not paranoia. That’s a real-world attack vector.
And if those scripts are capable of injecting remote code? That opens the door to phishing, malware delivery, or worse—all from inside your employee’s browser.
What You Can (And Should) Do Right Now
If you’re a small business or contractor relying on cloud-based tools, browser hygiene is cybersecurity. Here’s your move:
- Audit all Chrome extensions across your team
- Remove anything unused, unfamiliar, or unnecessary
- Disable permissions that aren’t critical (like full site access)
- Enable endpoint protection tools that can catch these threats before they escalate
- Better yet—lock down extension installs entirely on work devices
Before This Becomes Your Headline…
At Data Safe Group, we help businesses set smarter, safer policies—so you’re not relying on luck and good behavior to stay protected. If browser extensions can quietly compromise 6 million users, imagine what they could do to your business.
Let’s lock it down—schedule your security audit today.