DoI: 10.1145/1536616.1536634

article development led by queue.acm.org

To shield the browser from attacks, Google Chrome developers eyed three key problems.

BY chARLes ReIs, ADAm BARTh, AnD cARLos PIzAno
Browser
security:
Lessons
from Google
chrome

tHe WeB HAs become one of the primary ways people interact with their computers, connecting people with a diverse landscape of content, services, and applications. users can find new and interesting content on the Web easily, but this presents a security challenge: malicious Web site operators can attack

users through their Web browsers. Browsers face the challenge of keeping their users safe while providing a rich platform for Web applications.

Browsers are an appealing target for attackers because they have a large and complex trusted computing base with a wide network-visible interface. Historically, every browser at some point has contained a bug that let a malicious Web site operator circumvent the browser’s security policy and compromise the user’s computer. Even after these vulnerabilities are patched, many users continue to run older, vulnerable

versions. 5 When these users visit malicious Web sites, they run the risk of having their computers compromised.

Generally speaking, the danger posed to users comes from three factors, and browser vendors can help keep their users safe by addressing each of these factors:

The severity of vulnerabilities. ˲ By sandboxing their rendering engine, browsers can reduce the severity of vulnerabilities. Sandboxes limit the damage that can be caused by an attacker who exploits a vulnerability in the rendering engine.