Cybersecurity in today’s world is a major concern as there are lots of hackers who are investing their time and energy in cracking and hacking the system. That is why the majority of big shot companies invest a humungous amount to tightening their system security. But recently it has been proved that the internet Giant Google can also have security loopholes as the recently launched Google pixel phone was hacked by a group of Chinese hackers.
What is more astonishing is that to crack and hack their security the hackers didn’t even take a minute. This happened in the PwnFest 2016 which is a hacking competition held in Seoul. The team called White-Hat hackers from Qihoo 360 are the ones who did the impossible in less than 60 sec.
At first, the team exhibited a proof-of-concept exploit that used a zero-day vulnerability so that they can get the remote code execution (RCE) on the phone. The exploit then went on to launch the Google Play store on the smartphone before opening Google Chrome. Then the chrome opened with a web page saying “Pwned By 360 Alpha Team”. The team then secured the cash prize of $120,000 for hacking the Pixel.
These master brains didn’t stop there and went ahead to hack the Adobe Flash with a combination of traditional and old vulnerability methods and again secured the cash prize of $120,000 for the same. Microsoft Edge running under Windows 10 was also hacked in the competition besides Adobe Flash and Pixel. It is said that the exploits would be reported to the said companies so that they can repair these loopholes as soon as possible. Still, the question remains how far our security is guaranteed in all these platforms when the big shot companies are being hacked in just a matter of time.
