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Firefox Will Soon Warn Users of Software That Performs MitM Attacks (zdnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the better-security dept.

The Firefox browser will soon come with a new security feature that will detect and then warn users when a third-party app is performing a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack by hijacking the user's HTTPS traffic. From a report: The new feature is expected to land in Firefox 66, Firefox's current beta version, scheduled for an official release in mid-March. The way this feature works is to show a visual error page when, according to a Mozilla help page, "something on your system or network is intercepting your connection and injecting certificates in a way that is not trusted by Firefox." An error message that reads "MOZILLA_PKIX_ERROR_MITM_DETECTED" will be shown whenever something like the above happens.

4 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. Will have to be don carefully by The-Ixian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not sure how many corporate Firefox deployments there are but this could really give some IT support groups a headache.

    On the bright side, users will learn quickly when Superfish style shenanigans are going on.

    Overall, I like the idea. In practice, I am thinking this is going to cause more pain than pleasure....

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    1. Re:Will have to be don carefully by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not sure how many corporate Firefox deployments there are but this could really give some IT support groups a headache.

      Hehe, you aren't kidding.They'll have to find a different way to keep track of where their employees are going.

      In practice, I am thinking this is going to cause more pain than pleasure....

      Pain can be a way of alerting you to problems.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:Will have to be don carefully by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, they do. They do not have any right whatsoever to expect that their employees will not notice, and even less right to expect that a 3rd party browser will help to hide their shenanigans.

  2. Re:Okay, I'll bite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In other words, Firefox will send a list of all sites you're visiting to a third party server under the pretext of "security". Riiiiiight.