CampaignPublished 16 Feb 2026Updated 17 Feb 2026

Fake AI Assistant Extensions Targeting 260,000 Chrome Users via injected iframes

Source AlienVault OTX General

Description

A coordinated campaign of Chrome extensions posing as AI assistants has been uncovered, affecting over 260,000 users. These extensions, while appearing legitimate, embed remote, server-controlled interfaces inside extension-controlled surfaces, granting access to sensitive browser capabilities. The campaign consists of 30 different extensions sharing the same codebase, permissions, and backend infrastructure. Key features include remote iframe as the core UI, page content extraction, voice recognition capability, and Gmail integration. The extensions communicate with infrastructure under the tapnetic.pro domain, using subdomain segmentation for logical separation. The campaign employs extension spraying tactics to evade takedowns and quickly restore distribution. This approach breaks the browser security model, potentially allowing data harvesting and user behavior monitoring.

Impact

For European organizations, this campaign poses a substantial risk to confidentiality and privacy, as the malicious extensions can harvest sensitive browsing data, email content, and voice inputs. This could lead to leakage of intellectual property, personal data, and corporate communications. The integration with Gmail is particularly concerning for organizations using Google Workspace, as attackers could access sensitive emails and attachments. The widespread scale (260,000+ users) indicates a high likelihood that employees in European companies may have installed these extensions, potentially enabling lateral movement or targeted phishing campaigns. The campaign's ability to evade takedown through extension spraying increases the persistence and reach of the threat. Additionally, the undermining of browser security models could facilitate further exploitation or malware delivery. The medium severity rating reflects the balance between the complexity of exploitation (requiring user installation) and the significant potential impact on data confidentiality and user privacy.

Defensive guidance

European organizations should implement strict policies governing browser extension installation, restricting users to approved extensions only via enterprise policies. Deploy endpoint security solutions capable of detecting suspicious extension behaviors and monitor network traffic for connections to known malicious domains such as tapnetic.pro and its subdomains. Conduct regular audits of installed browser extensions across corporate devices. Educate employees about the risks of installing unverified AI assistant extensions and encourage verification of extension publishers and reviews. Leverage browser security features like extension permission reviews and disable unnecessary permissions such as access to Gmail or voice recognition unless explicitly required. Collaborate with browser vendors to report malicious extensions and support rapid takedown efforts. Employ data loss prevention (DLP) solutions to monitor and block unauthorized data exfiltration attempts. Finally, maintain updated threat intelligence feeds to stay informed about emerging variants of this campaign.

Summary

This threat campaign involves a network of 30 malicious Chrome extensions that impersonate legitimate AI assistant tools to deceive users into installation. These extensions share a common codebase and backend infrastructure, communicating with command and control servers hosted under the tapnetic.pro domain and related subdomains. The core malicious technique involves embedding remote iframes controlled by the attacker inside the extension UI, which circumvents Chrome's security model by allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code and access sensitive browser APIs. The extensions extract page content, capture voice inputs, and integrate with Gmail, enabling comprehensive data harvesting and user behavior monitoring. The campaign uses extension spraying, a tactic where multiple similar extensions are published to the Chrome Web Store to avoid detection and takedown, ensuring persistent distribution. The use of remote iframes as the primary UI is a novel approach that facilitates dynamic control over the extension's behavior and evasion of static detection methods. Although no CVE or known exploits are currently documented, the threat leverages advanced evasion and persistence techniques, making it a significant risk to users and organizations relying on Chrome extensions for productivity. The domains involved (airnetic.space, softnetica.space, tapnetic.pro, tapnetic.space, and claude.tapnetic.pro) serve as infrastructure for command and control and data exfiltration.

Indicators of compromise

Domains 5

airnetic.space
softnetica.space
tapnetic.pro
tapnetic.space
claude.tapnetic.pro

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 17 Feb 2026, 16:29 UTC

MITRE ATT&CK techniques7 from threat tags

Technical details

Indicators of compromise

Domains 5

Community reviews

Related threats