But this exercise isn’t just about exploiting previously unknown weaknesses in software: It’s about alerting makers of successfully hacked software about the vulnerabilities so that they can harden their products for better application security. eSecurity Planet takes a look at one of the prime targets of this week’s Pwn2Own, taking place at the CanSecWest security conference: the venerable Web browser. This time around, the potential victims are Apple’s Safari, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome. Who, if any, will emerge unscathed?
The Pwn2Own contest has become a closely watched duel between security researchers and software makers. With thousands of dollars on the line, researchers aim to probe software for exploits that could put their users at risk.
As if things weren’t tough enough in the Internet security space, Web browser vendors will have a big target painted on their backs this week at the 2010 Pwn2Own competition.
Taking place at the CanSecWest security show in Vancouver, Pwn2Own is a contest sponsored by security firm Tipping Point in which researchers square off against each other to win up to $100,000 in prize money for exploiting fully patched Web browsers, as well as mobile platforms.
