Security News > 2021 > February > Chrome 89 beta: Google presses on with 'advanced hardware interactions' that Mozilla, Apple see as harmful

Chrome 89 also supports Web NFC, meaning that web applications can read and write NFC tags.

Another new feature is the Web Serial API, which enables direct communication between web applications and devices with serial ports.

Web-sharing APIs already implemented for Chrome on Android have now been added on Windows and Chrome OS. The idea is to replace the little buttons optimistic websites display for sharing content to Twitter, Facebook, and the like, with a single Share button that calls the operating system's sharing feature.

Enhanced device support in Chrome further closes the gap between web and native applications but also increases the potential attack surface.

Other APIs considered harmful by Mozilla include the Serial API and Web NFC. The difficulty is that when users find features supported by Chrome that do not work in Mozilla's Firefox they may simply regard Firefox as broken and it becomes another factor in Chrome's dominance.

Apple's WebKit team is also opposed to many of these APIs, including Web NFC, Web HID, Serial API and WebUSB, "Due to fingerprinting, security, and other concerns".

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/02/01/chrome_89_beta_brings_desktop/