Websites Can Now Spy on You Through Your Hard Drive
Key points
- Over the decades, there has been no shortage of sites using clever techniques to covertly track visitorsâ browsing histories, device fingerprints, and keystrokes and mouse movements in real time.
- Even Meta and Yandex were recently caught joining in the privacy-invasive free-for-all.
- Now sites have a new way to spy on their visitors: by measuring subtle interactions with their solid-state drives.
- The technique, named FROST (fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing), allows sites to monitor other sites a visitor is viewing and what apps are open on their devices.
- The technique, laid out in a research paper, exploits a side channel, a form of leak resulting from physical manifestations such as electromagnetic emanations, data caches, or the time required to complete a task.
Quick Summary
Over the decades, there has been no shortage of sites using clever techniques to covertly track visitorsâ browsing histories, device fingerprints, and keystrokes and mouse
Why It Matters
This development is important because it may impact public opinion, policy decisions, and future developments related to Websites Can Now Spy on You Through Your Hard Drive.
Key Takeaways
- Over the decades, there has been no shortage of sites using clever techniques to covertly track visitorsâ browsing histories, device fingerprints, and keystrokes and mouse movements in real time.
- Even Meta and Yandex were recently caught joining in the privacy-invasive free-for-all.
- Now sites have a new way to spy on their visitors: by measuring subtle interactions with their solid-state drives.
- The technique, named FROST (fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing), allows sites to monitor other sites a visitor is viewing and what apps are open on their devices.
- The technique, laid out in a research paper, exploits a side channel, a form of leak resulting from physical manifestations such as electromagnetic emanations, data caches, or the time required to complete a task.
đ Source: Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
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