While most enterprises lock down endpoints, harden networks, and scan for vulnerabilities, one of the riskiest vectors often slips through unmonitored: browser extensions. These small, user-installed applications can execute privileged code, access sensitive DOM elements, intercept network requests, and even exfiltrate data, all within the context of enterprise-approved browsers.
Keep Aware’s new Buyer’s Guide to Browser Extension Management explores how security and IT leaders can achieve comprehensive visibility, control, and real-time response across browser environments (and extensions), alongside a detailed comparison of the tools available to get there.
Understanding the Technical Risk Surface
Modern browser extensions come with a wide range of capabilities that allow persistent monitoring and code execution. These include:
Permissions to observe and modify what users see and do in their browser, such as changing page content or tracking user activity.
Background scripts that can run persistently and interact with remote command-and-control servers.
Content scripts that inject JavaScript directly into web apps, enabling adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attacks and the silent theft of sensitive data.
Access to cookies, localStorage, clipboard, and user credentials.
Together, these capabilities create a significant risk surface: malicious or poorly vetted extensions can harvest sensitive business data, expose employee credentials, or serve as entry points for broader network intrusions.
Even trusted extensions can become compromised through supply chain attacks or hijacked developer accounts, turning previously safe tools into active, persistent threats.
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