CommetJacking Exploit in Comet Browser Puts Email Accounts at Risk

A new form of cyber-attack called CommetJacking has been discovered in the Comet web browser. This technique can secretly capture individual's emails without their knowledge.

What is CommetJacking?​

CommetJacking functions by taking advantage of a bug regarding how the Comet browser is handling web requests. Most of the time, a web browser should load a specified webpage per the request, but with this bug, hackers can:

• Collect email info from the Comet browser.
• Send this info to their servers.

This means while a person is browsing the web, the hacker can be reading their email in the background.

What is so bad about it?​

Emails often carry sensitive things such as:

• Password reset links.
• Banking info.
• Private conversations.

If hackers have access to your email, they can impersonate you, compromise accounts, and attack your contacts. To put it simply, if you lose control of your email, you may lose control of your entire digital life.

Will it be fixed?​

Yes. Researchers already let Comet staff know about the problem. They will have a patch in a few days. In the meantime, you should be vigilant, especially:

• Use a different browser for your e-mail.
• Do not log into anything important while using Comet.
• Whenever possible, update your browsers.

Conclusion​

This attack demonstrates the resourcefulness of hackers. A glitch in a browser can be a significant threat to users when exploited. If you use the Comet Browser, use caution, be vigilant about changes, and consider using another browser until they have resolved the issue.