MEGA
| Primary URL | Location | Industry | mega[.]nz |
Country
New Zealand
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Technology
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Profile
Mega.nz, also known as MEGA, is a file‑sharing and cloud storage service headquartered in New Zealand. It enables users to upload, store, and share files through a web interface, desktop applications, and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. The service distributes cryptographically signed desktop applications to verify the integrity of its software offerings. Users can generate shareable links to distribute files and manage access via the platform’s sharing controls.
In September 2018 the official Chrome extension for Mega.nz was compromised with malicious code designed to harvest user credentials, session data, and cryptocurrency private keys from platforms such as Amazon, GitHub, MyEtherWallet, and IDEX. The hijacked extension transmitted the collected information to a Ukrainian server before being removed from the Chrome Web Store and disabled for existing users. Mega.nz confirmed that the breach resulted from unauthorized access to its Chrome Web Store account and criticized Google’s removal of publisher signature requirements, which it argued could have prevented the compromise. The company noted that its Firefox extension and cryptographically signed applications were not affected by this attack vector.
Earlier in June 2018 a credential‑stuffing attack led to the exposure of thousands of Mega.nz user credentials and associated file listings, compromising email addresses, passwords, and stored file names. Analysis showed that the vast majority of the exposed credentials matched those from prior unrelated breaches, and some compromised accounts were found to contain illegal content that was subsequently reported to law‑enforcement authorities. In response to this incident, Mega.nz announced plans to implement two‑factor authentication to strengthen account security. These events have highlighted the company’s emphasis on cryptographic integrity, its reliance on signed software distributions, and its focus on user‑centric security measures such as two‑factor authentication within the competitive cloud storage market.