Alright so here’s the real deal—while everyone’s out here scanning for malware and checking sketchy EXEs, the game has shifted. It’s not the trojans or ransomware that are sneaking in the backdoor these days—it’s browser extensions. Yup, those handy little add-ons that block ads or let you take notes are now being hijacked and turned into full-on info-stealing malware.

What’s Really Happening?
Cybercriminals are getting smarter. Instead of sending phishing emails or getting you to download a fake “PDF reader,” they’re publishing legit-looking Chrome and Edge extensions—sometimes even with decent reviews. But under the hood, these things are quietly grabbing your cookies, login sessions, and autofill passwords, then shipping them off to a remote server.

Even worse? A few of them auto-update with malicious code after you’ve installed the clean version.

Why Is This So Dangerous in 2025?

• Modern browsers = goldmines. Everything is in there: banking sessions, email, tokens, even 2FA cookies.
• Bypassing antivirus. Most AVs don’t treat browser extensions as threats unless they’re super obvious.
• Persistence. Some of these stealers add themselves to multiple browser profiles or sync via your Google account. So even if you reinstall your browser, boom—it’s back.

Real-World Example:
Earlier this year, researchers caught an extension called "Quick Translator Pro" being used to siphon session tokens from Gmail, Facebook, and banking portals. It passed Google's review, got over 20,000 downloads, and quietly stole from users for weeks before being pulled.

What You Can Do (Right Now):

• Audit your browser extensions regularly. If you don’t remember installing it, remove it.
• Use browser extension permission managers (some new AVs have this built-in now).
• Disable extension sync on your Google or Microsoft accounts unless necessary.
• Keep your browser updated, and consider using separate profiles for sensitive activities (like banking).

Cyber Protection Academy’s Take:
At Cyber Protection Academy, we’re constantly adapting our team courses to reflect the real-world threat landscape. Show you how threat actors are abusing extension APIs, and how you can detect, prevent, or even simulate these attacks in a safe lab.