Part 5/10:
The rise of AI-integrated browsers has opened exciting possibilities, but recent findings demonstrate they can also be weaponized. Researchers from cybersecurity firm Cato Networks have uncovered a method called HashJack, which exploits URL fragments—those parts following a hash (#) in web addresses—to inject malicious instructions that AI assistants may unwittingly execute.
How the Attack Works
In a typical scenario, an attacker crafts a URL with an innocuous-looking domain but embeds malicious payloads inside the URL fragment. When a user visits such a link and interacts with an AI browser, the assistant might parse and execute commands hidden in the fragment—effectively turning the URL into a payload carrier.