Browser Extensions: The Hidden Security Risk in Your Houston Business
Understanding the 2025 LayerX Report on Browser Extension Security
Browser Extensions: The Hidden Security Risk in Your Houston Business
Browser extensions have become an integral part of our daily digital experience, enhancing productivity and providing convenient features. However, a groundbreaking report from LayerX reveals these seemingly harmless tools pose significant security risks to enterprises. Let’s dive into the key findings of the Enterprise Browser Extension Security Report 2025.
Alarming Statistics That Should Concern Every CISO
The LayerX report combines data from public extension stores with real-world enterprise usage telemetry, providing unprecedented insight into this overlooked threat surface. Here are the most concerning statistics:
- 99% of enterprise users have at least one browser extension installed in their browsers, and 52% have more than 10 extensions installed
- 53% of enterprise users have installed extensions with ‘high’ or ‘critical’ permission scope, allowing access to sensitive data
- Browser extensions are not just coming from official stores – 17% originate from non-official sources, and 26% are sideloaded by external applications
- Over 20% of enterprise users have installed GenAI browser extensions, with 58% of these extensions having high-risk permissions
High-Risk Permissions: The Technical Details
The LayerX report examines several permissions that can access sensitive data:
- Identity API: Provides access to user account information when interacting with Google services, including OAuth authentication and user profile data
- Cookies API: Allows extensions to read, modify, and delete cookies. Malicious extensions could steal session cookies, hijack sessions, or impersonate legitimate users
- Scripting API: Enables injection of JavaScript code into web pages, which can be used for capturing login forms, keystrokes, scraping credentials, or manipulating web content
- Tabs API: Permits extensions to manage browser tabs, potentially forcing navigation to malicious websites or disrupting legitimate session-related tabs
- webRequest API: Allows extensions to observe and intercept network requests, potentially intercepting session cookies or modifying request headers
- webNavigation API: Could be used to intercept HTTPS requests to gather sensitive data such as certificate information or tamper with headers
Browser Store Statistics: Chrome Dominates, But That’s Not the Full Story
The Chrome Web Store is the largest source of browser extensions with approximately 145,000 extensions, followed by Mozilla’s add-on store with about 43,000, and Edge with around 13,000 extensions.
However, the report reveals concerning trends about extension publishers:
- 54% of extension publishers are identified solely by free Gmail accounts
- 79% of extension developers have published just a single extension
- 58% of extensions do not publish a privacy policy
- 51% of extensions haven’t been updated in over a year
Perhaps most concerning: 88.5% of Chrome extensions have fewer than 1,000 users, meaning most extensions have minimal public scrutiny or review.
Key Recommendations for Businesses
Based on the LayerX findings, here are crucial steps for securing your organization:
- Audit All Extensions: Conduct a full audit of all extensions across all browsers on all devices to understand your complete browser extension threat surface
- Categorize Extensions: Identify extension categories that pose particular risks, such as GenAI or VPN extensions, which frequently request excessive permissions
- Enumerate Extension Permissions: Document what each extension can access to fully understand potential exposure
- Assess Extension Risk: Evaluate both the permission scope (what data it can access) and trustworthiness factors (publisher reputation, user base size, update frequency)
- Apply Adaptive Enforcement: Implement risk-based policies to block or disable extensions based on their risk profile
How CinchOps Can Help Secure Your Business
In light of these findings, CinchOps offers comprehensive browser extension security management for enterprises:
- Policy Enforcement: Create and enforce granular policies based on extension risk profiles
- Continuous Monitoring: Get real-time alerts when high-risk extensions are installed or when existing extensions request new permissions
- Endpoint Detection and Response: Continuously monitors your devices to identify and neutralize threats like ResolverRAT that execute in memory.
- Network Traffic Analysis: Detects suspicious communication patterns and data exfiltration attempts using AI-powered behavior analysis.
- Security Awareness Training: Empowers your employees to recognize and report phishing attempts through engaging, practical training sessions.
- 24/7 Security Monitoring: Provides round-the-clock surveillance of your systems by certified security experts who respond immediately to incidents.
- Threat Intelligence Integration: Incorporates the latest threat data to proactively defend against emerging attack techniques and vulnerabilities.
The LayerX report makes clear that browser extensions represent a significant but often overlooked security risk. By partnering with CinchOps, you can transform this vulnerability into a well-managed security domain, preventing data exposure and potential breaches through this increasingly exploited attack vector.
Contact CinchOps today for a comprehensive browser extension security assessment and take the first step toward closing this critical security gap in your organization.
Discover More
Discover more about our enterprise-grade and business protecting cybersecurity services: CinchOps Cybersecurity
Discover related topics: State of Browser Security 2025
For Additional Information on this topic, check out: Browser Extensions Make Nearly Every Employee a Potential Attack Vector
FREE CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT
