Washington Post Technology Columnist Geoffrey Fowler and Security Researcher Sam Jadali discovered six browser extensions gathered data from 4 million Chrome and Firefox users. The extensions collected the information without authorization from either browser. Jadali found the extensions, which included Hover Zoom and FairShare Unlock, were able to get sensitive information, such as tax returns, medical records, credit card information, vehicle identification numbers, Facebook photos and home surveillance videos found on security devices. Data collected by the extensions was shared with data broker Nacho Analytics, which would sell it for $10 to $49. Mozilla and Google were both notified of the practices. The tech companies issued statements telling users the leaks have stopped.
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