Google has banned all Cryptocurrency mining extensions on its Chrome Web Store, citing a rise in malicious extensions.
In a blog post, the company said that Chrome will no longer accept extensions that mine cryptocurrency, while existing extensions that mine cryptocurrency will be delisted from the Store in late June. However, extensions with blockchain-related purposes other than mining will continue to be permitted.
Google noted that Chrome Web Store policy has allowed crypto mining in extensions until now, as long as it is the extension's single purpose, and the user is adequately informed about the mining behavior.
"Unfortunately, approximately 90% of all extensions with mining scripts that developers have attempted to upload to Chrome Web Store have failed to comply with these policies, and have been either rejected or removed from the store," the company said in the post.
The company noted that malicious extensions has increased over the past few months. On the surface, they appear to provide useful functionality, but runs hidden cryptocurrency mining scripts in the background without the user's consent. According to Google, these mining scripts often consume significant CPU resources, and can severely impact system performance and power consumption.
James Wagner, Extensions Platform Product Manager, said, "The extensions platform provides powerful capabilities that have enabled our developer community to build a vibrant catalog of extensions that help users get the most out of Chrome. Unfortunately, these same capabilities have attracted malicious software developers who attempt to abuse the platform at the expense of users. This policy is another step forward in ensuring that Chrome users can enjoy the benefits of extensions without exposing themselves to hidden risks."
According to a recent report by Symantec, the practice of cryptocurrency mining by hijacking computers, known as cryptojacking, reached greater heights in the final months of 2017. The cybersecurity service provider has detected 8,500 percent increase in cyber criminals trying to make money by hacking computers through coinminers in the last quarter of 2017, a period that witnessed steep rise in the value of cryptocurrencies.
In February, electric car maker Tesla Inc. became a victim of cryptojacking, according to cybersecurity software firm RedLock. Tesla's Amazon Web Services or AWS cloud account was used by hackers to perform crptocurrency mining, which requires enormous computer power.
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