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Microsoft Chastises Google Over Chrome Security (pcmag.com)

An anonymous reader quotes PCMag: In a Wednesday blog post, Redmond examined Google's browser security and took the opportunity to throw some shade at Chrome's security philosophy, while also touting the benefits of its own Edge browser. The post, written by Microsoft security team member Jordan Rabet, noted that Google's Chrome browser uses "sandboxing" and isolation techniques designed to contain any malicious code. Nevertheless, Microsoft still managed to find a security hole in Chrome that could be used to execute malicious code on the browser.

The bug involved a Javascript engine in Chrome. Microsoft notified Google about the problem, which was patched last month. The company even received a $7,500 reward for finding the flaw. However, Microsoft made sure to point out that its own Edge browser was protected from the same kind of security threat. It also criticized Google for the way it handled the patching process. Prior to the patch's official rollout, the source code for the fix was made public on GitHub, a software collaboration site that hosts computer code. That meant attentive hackers could have learned about the vulnerability before the patch was pushed out to customers, Microsoft claimed. "In this specific case, the stable channel of Chrome remained vulnerable for nearly a month," the blog post said. "That is more than enough time for an attacker to exploit it."

In the past Google has also disclosed vulnerabilities found in Microsoft products -- including Edge.

2 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do we point out Microsoft's long and illustrious history of ignoring critical security flaws now or...

    Do we just point out Chrome isn't crashing computers with their security updates, thus training their users to turn off automatic updates?

    I know, I know, its not the same thing exactly. But you know what they say about people in glass houses.

    1. Re:Really? by dreamchaser · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I would actually prefer that the major players all try to keep each other honest.

      Being honest is one thing, which I do appreciate.

      That said, Microsoft doesn't have the right to bash a garage-band IoT maker about security flaws response.

      Everyone, from the lone user to a mega-corporation, has the right to call out security flaws on anyone who exposes others to risk.