Cryptocurrency theft is being targeted in various forms, some of which are more dangerous as the most frequently used programs, such as browser extensions, are exploited.

According to a recent report, there are many Chrome extensions targeting cryptocurrency holders and most of these extensions come from a single Internet domain registrar, CommuniGal Communications (GalComm), and the extensions for this domain have been downloaded nearly 32 million times.

These malicious add-ons have proven to be extremely dangerous for cryptocurrency investors, as one user recently lost all his bitcoin savings because of them.

The growth of suspicious Google Chrome extensions:

According Search According to the US-based network security company Awake Security, out of the 26,079 GalComm domains, 15,160 were found to be suspicious or malicious.

Read:Coinbase crashes as Bitcoin drops more than 10 percent

These accessible domains host a variety of traditional malware and Chrome-based monitoring tools.

Which makes it especially threatening because it uses many evasion and stealth techniques that help it stay camouflaged under the radar of most protection programs.

The Awake Security report stated the following:

In the past three months alone, we’ve harvested 111 malicious and fake chrome extensions, most of which come from GalComm domains.

These extensions can take screenshots, read digital wallet, harvest digital tokens and pull credentials stored in cookies or parameters, capture user keystrokes (such as passwords)…etc.

According to research, these malicious extensions using GalComm have been downloaded at least 32,962,951 times.

The report adds:

This only explains the extensions that were present in the Google Chrome Web Store as of May 2020 only

How do these harmful add-ons affect cryptocurrencies?

The report explained as follows:

Trust in the Internet and its infrastructure is critical.

Exploiting the core components of this infrastructure, domain registration, browsers, etc., shakes the foundation of trust and poses a risk to organizations and consumers alike.

Read:Cardano adds 5% to its value and returns to seventh place, and Bitcoin is still stable above $46,000

The same applies to encrypted digital currencies, since digital currencies exist and operate in the Internet world, so they require a secure digital presence, otherwise the consequences will be dire, as the damages and risks can be significantly high.

Read:The decline in the volume of Bitcoin trading in centralized exchanges and its growth in its decentralized counterpart

There is an example that we have already mentioned on the Arab Bitcoin website, about Mr. Eric Savix, a podcast host who was exposed to theft of his coins after he used a fake extension on the Chrome browser, which led to the withdrawal of everything in his possession:

Investor loses his bitcoin after 7 years of storage due to a simple mistake

Therefore, we always advise in Arab Bitcoin that investors should review the security tips that we provide periodically to protect their digital investments.

Read also:

How do you recognize fraudulent projects in the cryptocurrency world?

Cryptocurrency investors lose millions due to scams