Chrome first to fall at Pwn2Own - falls in first five minutes

Within 5 minutes of Pwn2Own contest commencing, Google's claim to Chrome being un-hackable and the most secure browser was laid to rest.

Researchers at the French security outfit VUPEN, said that they targeted Chrome because they wanted to show that Chrome was not un-hackable.

The Chrome exploit was demonstrated by visiting a webpage containing the exploit code. One Chrome opened the webpagem the code ran automatically and opened the Windows Calculator outside of Chrome's sandbox without the user's permission.

The first to fall was Chrome, followed by Safari, and then Internet Explorer. The contest is still underway. You can see the current up-to-date status at any point of time here.

The Pwn2Own contest is different from Google's own Pwnium competition, which saw Russian security researcher Sergey Glazunov, win $60,000 by uncovering a security hole in Chrome.

The conclusion for us, is that no browser or operating system is completely safe. We just have to use the safest operating system, the most secure browser, use the best possible security software and use loads of common sense to stay safe online!