Browsers and Chromebooks are still vulnerable to hacks even after incorporating it with programs that would make it secured. The discovery is aimed to help developers improve the security features of browsers and devices.
During the Pwn2Own hacking contest held on March 13, seven Internet security researchers and hackers found a way to penetrate different browsers, like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.
Tech Times reported that after the contest, the Internet researchers and hackers met with the respective companies of the browser they have hacked in the Chamber of Disclosures. Inside, they reported and discussed how they managed to get around security features and get in the browser's system to help the companies develop a fix for those vulnerabilities.
Contestants Sebastian Apelt and Andreas Schmidt managed to get into Internet Explorer's two use-after-free and a kernel bug, and turned on the system's calculator as an indication that they are in.
To infiltrate Google Chrome, Team VUPEN and an anonymous participant used a sandbox bypass to get pass through the anti-exploit software, called Sandbox, used by the browser to defeat hacks. Aside from using the sandbox bypass, team VUPEN used another undisclosed technique.
Contestants George Hotz, who managed to penetrate Mozilla Firefox, and Keen Team's Liang Chen, who got into Apple Safari's system, both utilized an out-of-bound read/write, which resulted to a code execution.
All of them won the contest and took home a total of $450,000.
Pwn2Own is an annual computer hacking contest where contestants accept the challenge of exploiting commonly used software and mobile devices. Furthermore, it aims to identify unknown vulnerabilities which will be reported to the developers.
The contest has also become a fiundraising event. One non-official challenge, which pitted Internet security researchers from Google against a team from HP's DVLabs ZDI, raised a total of $82,500 for the Canadian Red Cross.
