Turns out a browser security extension from Google for Chrome and Firefox browsers can actually put user privacy at risk, according to a researcher here at the Black Hat USA conference.
Robert “RSnake” Hansen, CEO of SecTheory LLC, says he discovered that Google’s Safe Browsing anti-phishing and anti-malware feature for Chrome and Firefox actually gathers and stores data about the user’s machine and browsing habits that could potentially be abused by an attacker or even incriminate the user in a legal case.
“It’s a time capsule on anyone who ever did anything in Chrome or Firefox … they can be de-anonymized way after the fact, months or years after using those browsers and the settings are turned off,” Hansen says.
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