Google Sponsored Report Says Chrome is the Safest Browser

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Accuvant has published a report, commissioned by Google, called “Browser Security Comparison: A Quantitative Approach” which evaluates the security of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The report finds that Google Chrome is currently the browser that is most secured against attacks.

“Anybody who surfs the internet is familiar with malware, spyware and viruses. These malicious programs can lead to system pop-ups, slowdowns, account takeovers, and theft of credit card data, social security numbers and other personally identifiable information. While antivirus and anti-malware can help prevent infection, the first line of defense is using a secure web browser,” said Ryan Smith, chief scientist for Accuvant. “Accuvant is dedicated to providing essential services, like this in-depth, proactive research, that help protect vendors, companies, government agencies, and the public-at-large against those with malicious intent.”

Although the report was commissioned by Google, Accuvant says its analysis is independent and based on the premise that all software of sufficient complexity has vulnerabilities. As such the web browser with the best anti-exploitation techniques is the most resistant to attack.

“Our researchers used a completely different and more extensive methodology than previous, similar studies,” said Chris Valasek, Accuvant LABS senior research scientist. “We compared web browsers from a layered perspective, taking into account security architecture and anti-exploitation techniques. Like antivirus or anti-malware software, each provides an additional layer of defense. This methodology requires a greater depth of technical expertise than statistical analysis of vulnerabilities, and also provides a more accurate window into the security of each browser.”

The Conclusion
The reports executive conclusion reads “the URL blacklisting services offered by all three browsers will stop fewer attacks than will go undetected. Both Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer implement state-of-the-art antiexploitation technologies, but Mozilla Firefox lags behind without JIT hardening. While both Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer implement the same set of anti-exploitation technologies, Google Chrome’s plug-in security and sandboxing architectures are implemented in a more thorough and comprehensive manner. Therefore, we believe Google Chrome is the browser that is most secured against attack.“