Pwn2Own 2011 Hacking Contest Browser Results

This year's Pwn2Own contest has come and gone with February, leaving in its wake 3 exposed browsers. Vupen (a French security firm) hacked the Apple Saffari browser version 5.0.4 earning $15,000 from TippingPoint. The Google Chrome browser was not attacked directly in the contest, meaning no one took home the grand-prize of $20,000, although a vulnerability was discovered in Chrome, by an independent team of Vincenzo Iozzo, Ralf Philipp Weinmann and Willem Pinckaers, who collectively received $1,337 from the Google's Bug Bounty Program. Most major systems that support Chrome have already patched the hole, with the exception of Apple's iPhone 3G, and iPod Touch. The Internet Explorer 8 browser was hacked by Harmony Security founder Steven Fewer, winning him $15,000 and a new laptop. Microsoft reports the bug is already patched in their new Internet Explorer 9. Mozilla's FireFox browser was the only one to survive the test of weekend, proving Mozilla's Bug Bounty program really pays off. All in all, 3 major browsers were found with vulnerabilities, showing that currently 'Mozilla FireFox' is the best browser option out there. I really like this overall review, as it slaps fanboys with its honest criticism, and humbles us all with future projections of security and web browsers.