CanSecWest hackers fail to crack mobile devices

Hackers failed to make any headway with mobile devices at the CanSecWest event

A hacking contest at the CanSecWest conference has failed to crack any of the mobile devices on offer, despite managing to get through most mainstream browsers within minutes.

The PWN2OWN contest, organised by security firm TippingPoint, offered $10,000 (£6,800) to anyone who managed to crack one of five mobile handsets via the browser, but no-one managed to pick up the prize.

"The mobile platform is limited by memory and processing power. What that generally amounts to is that vulnerabilities do exist, but actually exploiting them is complicated and unpredictable," said Terri Forslof from TippingPoint.

"There are additional variables which can be show-stoppers just between the hardware manufacturers themselves, or the carrier network the phone is associated with."

The company said that it plans to run the competition again at the conference next year.

Earlier in the contest two hackers managed to get through fully patched Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari browsers using malware embedded in a web page. Google's Chrome was the only browser to remain unscathed.