Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla users beware of these new hacking methods used on the top web browsers, which researchers say could allow threat actors to carry out malware attacks on their users.
A person holds an iphone showing the app for Google chrome search engine. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday January 3, 2020.
Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla New Hacking Method
As per the news story by Digital Information World, a group of researchers has found a new type of hacking for the biggest web browsers out there dubbed as the XS-Leaks.
It is to note that the said method is not entirely something new in the world of hacking. However, its strategy has recently evolved to effectively carry out malware attacks.
Cybersecurity researchers from the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and the Ruhr-Universität Bochum or the RUB discovered the new emerging hacking methods found on the biggest web browsers from different platforms.
To do so, the researchers have tested out a total of 56 combinations of operating systems and web browsers. For instance, they have tried to pair Google Chrome and macOS or Mozilla and Windows to go on with the study.
With the numerous pairing of browsers and operating systems, the researchers in the study further tested their protection against a total of 34 varying XS-Leaks.
New Web Browser Hacking: How it Works
The study showed that there are 14 new XS-Leaks hacking methods found on the top web browsers, such as Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari, and Mozilla's Firefox.
A customer types on a MacBook laptop at an Apple Store following an announcement that Apple has become the world's most valuable brand on May 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California. In a report released by London based Millward Brown, Apple Inc. has surpassed Google to claim the top spot in a global ranking of brand value this year with an estimated value of more than $153 billion up 84 percent from last year.
The new method of XS-Leaks completely copies the coding system of a website to overcome the security protection of the big-name web browsers out there.
After which, the malicious website will start stealing information from the users of the legitimate and trusted website.
The XS-Leaks will then dig up sensitive information from the users without them knowing that someone is stealing their private data quietly.
What's more, the malware that the hacking method uses gathers information that its users of the trusted website would not want to give to a malicious site, such as their locations and other data from various apps.
Researchers Discovered New Web Browser Attacks
According to the news story by the Eurasia Review, the researchers went on to publish their critical cybersecurity discovery online.
They also presented their study during the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security last November.
The researchers behind the study, namely, Jörg Schwenk from the Horst Görtz Institute for IT-Security at RUB; Dr. Christian Mainka; Dominik Noß, and Marcus Niemietz from the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, ended up getting the "Best Paper Award" achievement during the virtual conference.
Elsewhere, Google Chrome users were previously urged to update their browsers immediately after two security vulnerabilities were found.
Related Article: New Google Chrome Privacy Guide Offers More Control Over Your Settings: How Does It Work?
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
