Google Chrome has highest number of vulnerabilities

security key on keyboard

Google Chrome has the highest level of detected vulnerabilities, while Avant haa the second highest, according to research.

Security detection company Secunia exposed 162 Chrome threats in October alone, which is quite a hike from its August number of 64. Avant claimed 159, while the third in line was iTunes with 83.

However, the firm said the reason the number is so high is because Google has the most advanced detection system in the industry, meaning it's probably more secure than others that have lower readings.

Kasper Lindgaard, Secunia's director of research and security, said: "It is almost always Google themselves who disclose the vulnerabilities," meaning it's safer to use "due to the vendor proactively hunting down and fixing vulnerabilities before anyone knows about them".

Not only does Google have a stringent in-house vulnerability detection system, it also offers attractive rewards to those outsiders who uncover risks, encouraging white hat hackers and security researchers to report any vulnerabilities they detect in return for a bounty.

Additionally, the browser uses a number of third party libraries which "may or may not make Google Chrome vulnerable too," according to Lindgaard.

The number of vulnerabilities detected has risen 40 per cent year-on-year with a total 1,841 vulnerabilities in the 20 most vulnerable programs. IBM was the worst-performing company with a high number of flaws across its suite of products.

Yesterday, it was announced Google was going to take a further step in warning users of potential harmful sites by marking those that use the 'http' protocol rather than 'https' as insecure.

"The goal of this proposal is to more clearly display to users that HTTP provides no data security," members of the Chrome Security Team said in a blog post.

Clare Hopping
Freelance writer

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.