Spyware Google Chrome Extensions Downloaded 32M Times In 'The Most Far-Reaching Malicious Campaign To Date,' Researchers Say

Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google Chrome web browser was discovered to be hosting multiple app extensions carrying spyware, Reuters reported Wednesday.

What Happened

The spyware apps were downloaded more than 32 million times and stole users' browsing history and other data that could compromise credentials for internal business tools, according to the new discovery by researchers at Awake Security.

According to Awake co-founder Gary Golomb, it was "the most far-reaching malicious Chrome store campaign to date," Reuters noted.

Google spokesperson Scott Westover told Reuters that the search engine giant removed more than 70 malicious apps after being notified by the researchers.

"When we are alerted of extensions in the Web Store that violate our policies, we take action and use those incidents as training material to improve our automated and manual analyses," Westover said.

The researchers found that the malicious domains in the extensions, more than 15,000 in total, were all purchased from an Israeli registrar called Galcomm. The company's owner Moshe Fogel denied any wrongdoing to Reuters.

Why It Matters

The spyware discovery comes at a time when Google is facing increased competition from rival Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Edge browser for market share.

Microsoft's Edge crossed Mozilla Firefox and become the second most popular web browser in the world, according to the NetMarketShare data reported by The Register.

Both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge have brought in significant security updates in recent months, Forbes reported.

Price Action

Alphabet Class A shares closed 0.4% higher at $1,452.54 on Wednesday, and Class C shares were up nearly 0.6% at $1,451.12. Both classes of shares were about 0.5% down in the after-hours.