According to Forbes, Google has confirmed that defending against account takeovers is getting harder as hackers target passwords, MFA tokens, and cookies. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a warning on December 10 about Chrome’s password manager, as the amount of personal data Chrome stores in your Google account grows. This synced data includes bookmarks, history, open tabs, passwords, payment info, addresses, and phone numbers—effectively a master key to your digital life. If a hacker steals your Google credentials, they gain access not just to Google services but to all the non-Google account data saved in your browser. Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) also found that 3 out of 10 password managers, including Google Chrome, store data in a way that allows the manufacturer potential access. Google’s solution involves adding more AI to Chrome to fix security problems created by its first AI features.
Chrome sync is the problem
Here’s the thing that should really worry you. When you sign into Chrome, it’s not just syncing your bookmarks for convenience. It’s uploading a staggering amount of sensitive, private data to Google’s cloud—data that has nothing to do with Google itself. Think about it: your bank login, your work portal password, your credit card details saved for checkout. All of it, sitting there, secured by a single point of failure: your Google account password. The BSI warning nails it: when sync is enabled without a separate passphrase, Google itself can technically access that data. Their advice? Set that separate passphrase. But honestly, maybe just turn sync off for the really sensitive stuff.
Browser password managers are weak
Let’s be blunt: using Chrome as your primary password manager is a bad idea. Security experts have warned against this for years, and these warnings are proving right. It creates a single, high-value target. Crack that one vault—through a phishing attack, a malicious extension, or a browser exploit—and you’ve lost everything. The article’s advice is the standard, correct advice: get a standalone password manager. These are dedicated, hardened tools designed for one job. They use zero-knowledge architectures, meaning not even the company can see your passwords. It’s a fundamental security upgrade. Relying on a browser for this is like using a cardboard box as a safe.
Google’s AI makes it worse
And just as the sync risk peaks, Google is doubling down on making Chrome… smarter. They’re adding more autofill for loyalty cards, travel details, and vehicle info from Google Wallet. They’re integrating AI agents. But they’ve already admitted these AI features open new attack vectors, like indirect prompt injection, where a malicious site can trick the AI into doing something awful. Google’s fix? More AI. They’re planning to add a second Gemini model to act as a “User Alignment Critic” to watch the first one. Does that sound like a robust security model to you? Or does it sound like an arms race happening inside your browser, with your data as the prize? More features mean more complexity, and more complexity always means more bugs and attack surfaces.
What you actually need to do
So, stop reading and go check your settings. First, open Chrome Sync and customize it. Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Sync and Google services’ and turn off sync for Passwords and Payment methods at a minimum. Yes, it’s less convenient. Security often is. Second, migrate to a standalone password manager. Today. Third, lock down your Google account with a passkey and a strong form of MFA that isn’t SMS. CISA says to disable less secure MFA forms, and they’re right. Finally, consider the trade-off. Every slick new autofill feature from Google is asking you to centralize more of your life in their cloud. In the world of cybersecurity, centralization is risk. You’re building a bigger, juicier target for hackers. Sometimes, a little friction is your best friend.
