Lock Down Browsers. Wipe Employee Footprints. Win Breach Wars.

Over 80% of security incidents now start in the browser. Chrome. Edge. Firefox. Even Safari.

They’re not just productivity tools anymore. They’ve become the primary attack surface.

Groups like Scattered Spider have figured this out. Instead of smashing endpoints with malware, they slip in through the browser.

They steal saved credentials. Hijack active sessions. Plant malicious extensions. Harvest tokens.

And because all of it happens inside the browser, your traditional defenses (EDR, MFA, firewalls) don’t always see it coming.

The Identity Perimeter Is the Browser

Scattered Spider represents the pivot. From attacking machines to attacking humans. 

Every open tab, every cached cookie, every autofill form becomes a vulnerability.

It’s not just a technical problem. It’s an employee compromise problem. That’s where the real breaches begin.

Your organization is surrounded by a human data perimeter as well as a hardware and software perimeter. 

The trend is accelerating. Netskope’s threat labs director Ray Canzanese notes, attackers aren’t breaking browsers open, they’re using them as the first foothold into the enterprise.

In 2024, 70% of attacks used a download through a browser to gain access, up from 58% the year before, according to eSentire’s Threat Response Unit. Improved browser security forced attackers to change tactics. Instead of exploiting software, they exploit people.

Browser Exploits Wane as Users Become the Attack Surface – Dark Reading, July 2025

Browser Risk Is Manageable

Not all browsers offer the same resilience.

Our independent comparison of the best browsers for privacy shows huge gaps in protections against fingerprinting, telemetry, and exploit resilience.

• Brave and Mullvad: Block trackers, resist fingerprinting, and minimize telemetry by default.
• LibreWolf: Hardened against data leaks, but usability suffers if you don’t know how to tune it.
• Tor: The strongest anonymity, but breaks too many sites for enterprise use.
• Chrome and Edge: User-friendly, but built on data collection, with virtually no fingerprinting defenses.

The right browser stack won’t stop every adversary. But it drastically cuts the window of opportunity for attackers like Scattered Spider.

Beyond the Browser: Employee Data Wipes

Attackers don’t just weaponize what’s inside the browser. They cross-reference it with what’s already out there. Employee addresses. Phone numbers. Past breaches. Social handles. All stitched together into precision attacks.

That’s why ObscureIQ doesn’t stop at browser security.

We perform employee data wipes. We remove exposed personal information from broker sites and open sources.

This closes the feedback loop. Even if Scattered Spider or another group compromises one layer, they can’t easily pivot into an employee’s broader identity. 

• Browser security stops the breach at the door.
• Data wipes make sure there’s nothing useful left outside the walls.

The rise of AI-assisted cybercrime means more and more bad actors will emulate Scattered Spider. They will power those attacks with the easiest and best info they can buy, scrape, or steal. How many of your employees are juicy targets?

ObscureIQ’s Role

At ObscureIQ, we help leaders reduce exposure where attackers are already hunting.

We combine browser hardening intelligence with digital footprint elimination.

That means:

• Mapping employee browser and personal data exposure.
• Eliminating sensitive data leaks.
• Building policies that balance usability with resilience.
• Reducing the chance one employee’s click leads to enterprise-wide compromise.

Scattered Spider isn’t going away. Neither are the browsers your teams rely on daily.

You decide whether your browser is your weakest link. Or your first line of defense.