For the fourth year of the prestigious Pwn2Own hacking-for-cash contest, it’s deja vu all over again.  The four most popular Internet browser suites were tested, and the results are basically the same as last year.  In spite of all the security upgrades, bug fixes, and general maintenance, the browsers were all still hacked except for one.  Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7, one of the hardest pairs to hijack?  It got taken down.  Firefox on Windows 7?  Hacked.  Safari on OSX?  That was the first one taken down!  The winner of the browser contest was, shockingly enough, Google Chrome.

Staggeringly, even the Safari application for the iPhone was hacked on the first day of the cybersecurity convention!  Apparently, the interconnectedness of Safari and OSX make it easy to use for users and easier to crack for hackers.  Windows 7, a significantly more secure OS than previous Windows versions, was also still vulnerable via Firefox and IE8.  While Google Chrome has its bugs and exploits, so far the hackers at the contest can’t manage to break through its sandbox and get into the separate layers of Windows 7 protection.

As always, security through obscurity isn’t the best idea.  If they can hack a handheld device, they’ll have no trouble hacking your MacBook.  It’s just a matter of want.

Tags: pwn2own, pwn2own 2010, hackers, viruses, hijacking computers, cybercrime, computer security, safest web browser, Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer 8, iPhone Safara, OSX, Windows 7

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