Chrome bug causes users to accidentally 'invite' hackers to track them

A new vulnerability allows users to unintentionally allow the Chrome browser to record audio through the microphone and activate the camera to record video without knowing it.

According to IBTimes, the vulnerability was discovered by Ran Bar-Zik, a developer at AOL. He rated this vulnerability as "critical".

Users can accidentally enable Chrome to record audio and video without knowing it.

Normally, Chrome will notify you when the camera or audio recording is activated. When the user agrees to use this feature, a red dot will also appear on the tab to show that the recording is in progress.

However, Bar-Zik found that in some cases, the browser bug allows a pop-up to start recording audio and video without displaying the red dot, so users could unwittingly give their browser permission to track them.

Bar-Zik discovered the bug while processing a website running WebRTC code - a protocol that allows streaming video and audio over the Internet in real time. He then reported it to Google.

Google responded immediately. However, the company did not consider it a security vulnerability, but promised to "look into ways to improve the situation".

Bar-Zik was not satisfied with this answer. He still believes that Google has underestimated the problem and that users can be tracked if they accidentally grant hardware access to hackers. "Users should be wary of websites that ask for access to their microphone and camera to avoid unfortunate consequences,"Bar-Zik warned.

According to VNE