German IT security agency finds Firefox the safest browser

The German cybersecurity government BSI has named Firefox the most secure web browser. The agency did this after testing based on its own safety guidelines. Other browsers fall short in terms of transparency, among other things.

The BSI conducts the tests to advise government bodies and private sector companies on the use of internet browsers. The agency has tested Firefox 68, Google Chrome 76, Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, and Microsoft Edge 44, which is not yet based on Chromium. Browsers such as Safari, Opera and Vivaldi have not been examined by the BSI. The agency used its own safety guidelines, which the BSI revised in September. The guidelines include support for tls, support for extended validation of security certificates, and support for sandboxing. Also, browser updates must be signed and verifiable, and companies must be able to set up a local blacklist of blocked URLs.

According to the BSI, Firefox was the only internet browser tested that met all the requirements. The other browsers fall short in terms of organizational transparency, among other things, and the browsers also lack support for a master password function. Also, Chrome, Edge and Internet Explorer cannot block telemetry collection, also known as data collection by companies, for example. In addition, Edge and Internet Explorer do not support custom browser profiles and different configurations.

Internet Explorer failed on most points. For example, the browser has no built-in update function, no options for different browser profiles and no support for some important security concepts, such as SOP, SRI and CSP. Internet Explorer 11 was released in 2013, and is no longer supported by Microsoft. Earlier this year, the company itself advised against the use of its browsers. It therefore comes as no surprise that the browser does not comply with the security guidelines of the BSI.