Typosquatting opportunities in Chromium browsers

Researchers have discovered that two specific characters can be exploited by typosquatters and phishers to deceive Chromium browsers, such as Chrome and Edge, into displaying URLs that appear authentic. This type of fraud is not new, as users have encountered phishing sites with misleading names like macrosoft[.]com and applle[.]com. However, the emergence of new characters in browsers presents a renewed threat to online security.

## Why it matters The ability to trick users with URLs that look legitimate poses an increasing challenge for cybersecurity. As browsers evolve, so do the techniques of attackers, necessitating greater vigilance from users and companies in protecting their personal information.

## What we know Researchers Ian Muscat and Leanne Briffa from the service Have I Been Squatted have identified that certain non-ASCII characters can be used to create domains resembling popular sites, which can confuse users. This finding highlights the need for increased digital literacy among users to recognize and avoid these deceptions.

## What is still unclear It has not yet been confirmed how many additional characters are available to attackers or the extent of the issue across different languages and alphabets. Furthermore, details on measures that browsers might implement to mitigate this risk have not been provided.