The uploaded spoof version of Chrome Web Store targeted users of MyEtherWallet, the popular encrypted online wallet service.
The Google Chrome extension of the Hola VPN service provider on Google’s Chrome Web Store was replaced by a phishing version aimed at users of a popular online wallet. In a publication, Hola said that the extension available for download on Chrome Web Store was replaced on Monday for five hours after the company’s Google store account was compromised.
Since then, the company has replaced the extension with the original one, as reported by experts in secure data destruction.
Hola Networks Ltd., based in Israel, offers VPN services. The company’s Chrome extension was downloaded by more than 8 million users, according to their Google store website.
According to the statement published by Hola, the company’s development team discovered last Monday that their store account had been hijacked, allowing an unknown hacker to replace the official version with a modified one to extract information and redirect users to the hacker’s website. Hola stated that the restoration of the original version of the extension was performed immediately.
Secure data specialists reports determined that the attacker’s target was MyEtherWallet (MEW), the popular encrypted online wallet service, which led to Hola to notify both cryptocurrency wallet and Google about the breach. The company also indicated that it has created an information security response team to investigate the incident, and recommended that MEW users change their passwords and enter their accounts only in private mode until further announcements.
Last Tuesday, MEW posted on Twitter that the activity of its users in the Hola extension could have been registered. The company advised all those who had the extension installed and used the MEW service in the last 24 hours to transfer their funds to a new account immediately. MEW has just been the target of a DNS attack, in which virtual assets with a value of up to $35K were stolen.
As experts in secure data destruction report, in 2015 Hola was accused by a group of investigators of selling access to their network for malicious use. The researchers also stated that Hola’s client software had flaws that would allow customer tracking. Following the claims, Hola made changes in their products.
In August 2017, Hola sold a control stake in its business division to the British private equity firm EMK Capital LLP.
