As the cloud reshapes enterprise IT, cybercriminals have found a new weak spot not in software vulnerabilities or brute-force hacks, but in browser-based identity theft. With modern malware, phishing kits, and infostealers targeting credentials and session tokens, the humble browser has become ground zero for the most devastating breaches of the decade.
From Endpoints to Identities: The Evolution of the Modern Breach
For over a decade, cyberattacks followed a predictable script: infiltrate a vulnerable device, escalate privileges, move laterally across the network, and steal or encrypt data. But as enterprise infrastructure moved to the cloud and embraced SaaS platforms, that playbook began to change.
Today’s core business systems from HR tools and CRM platforms to financial dashboards are accessed not through private networks but through web browsers over the public internet. And with the browser acting as the gateway to every cloud app, identity has become the new crown jewel for attackers.
This shift in the threat landscape came into sharp focus with the 2024 Snowflake campaign and the 2025 Scattered Spider attacks, where hackers leveraged stolen credentials and session tokens to gain legitimate access to hundreds of enterprise environments — without triggering a single security alert.
The Browser: Cybercrime’s New Frontline and Security’s Blind Spot
The browser is no longer just a tool it’s the primary attack surface. It’s where digital identities are used, where credentials are stored, and where session tokens live. And it’s increasingly where attacks begin.
While malware and phishing continue to play leading roles, attackers now rely heavily on infostealers — lightweight malware designed to silently exfiltrate browser credentials, session cookies, and stored authentication data. These stolen tokens allow attackers to log in directly to SaaS apps, bypassing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and avoiding detection.
Even malicious browser extensions have entered the fray, quietly harvesting data from unsuspecting users. If left unchecked, these extensions become surveillance tools — capable of monitoring logins, intercepting keystrokes, and exfiltrating session data. In environments where users have admin rights over their browser, every extension is a potential backdoor.
And then there’s phishing — still the number one tactic. Today’s phishing kits are industrial-grade, using CAPTCHAs, anti-analysis features, and legitimate SaaS hosting to bypass detection. They not only harvest passwords but also steal active session tokens, consent to OAuth scopes, and downgrade authentication to more phishable methods.
Identity: The Soft Underbelly of the SaaS Era
Modern attackers are no longer hacking systems — they’re logging in. Once credentials or session tokens are compromised, adversaries can exploit weak identity configurations, ghost accounts, and inconsistent MFA enforcement across hundreds of apps.
Compounding the risk is the sprawl of SaaS platforms, each with its own identity controls — or lack thereof. While some apps enforce single sign-on (SSO) and disable legacy logins, many do not support central visibility, allowing forgotten or misconfigured credentials to linger indefinitely.
These identity gaps, combined with API key abuse, OAuth phishing, and backup authentication downgrades, make organizations vulnerable despite having MFA and traditional anti-phishing defenses in place. And attackers have adapted. Many now specialize in harvesting credentials and reselling access, creating a dark web marketplace for ready-made account compromises.
The Browser as Defense: A Security Perimeter Reimagined
If the browser is where identity attacks happen, it must also be where defenses are built. Security experts are increasingly calling for browser-native security monitoring systems that can observe login behaviors, detect anomalies, and intercept phishing attempts in real-time.
Unlike identity providers (IdPs), which only track activity within their managed apps, browser-level security sees every login attempt, across every platform, regardless of whether the identity is known or managed. It can monitor the origin of a login, the type of MFA used, and where credentials are being sent giving security teams critical visibility into risky behavior.
And with real-time telemetry, organizations can block attacks as they happen not after a breach is discovered weeks later. Tools that operate within the browser can detect the exact moment a user enters credentials into a spoofed site or tries to authorize an unusual OAuth scope, providing the chance to intervene before damage is done.