In the era of an increase in online privacy awareness, many of us are conscious of our digital fingers and prefer to not track. However, it cannot be as simple as it seemed before.
An international team of researchers has found that users can be tracked by their graphics card. This is done through a new technique called “GPU fingerprinting”.
This new technology, named Malevolent Reported by researchers and for the first time Blapping computer, Each piece of hardware depends on small differences to make a difference that connects it to a certain user. Through a series of identifiers, researchers found that they are able to track individual users, as well as their online activity, just by applying this new technology.
The team extends into several countries and universities, including researchers from Israel, France and Australia, who published their findings online in a paper on arxiv.org. He showed examples of GPU fingerprinting technology, depending on the fact that no component is exactly the same – even if they are all parts of the same model and are created by the same manufacturer.
There are small differences in each graphics card performance, power consumption and processing capabilities. The Dradnapart takes advantage of this using a fixed charge based on the web graphics library (webgl). It is a cross-platform JavaScript-based application programming interface (API) that is responsible for providing graphics within any compatible web browser.
Using the webgl, the Draynapart targets the shades of the GPU with a special sequence of graphic operation that were specially created for this task. Drawing operations are ultra-colored and make the graphics card easier to separate the graphics card, and include the same make and model cards.
Once the work is completed, the technique produces an accurate trace with time measurement that includes how much time it takes to handle the stall functions, consisting of vertex render, and more. Since the time is separated for each GPU, it makes the unit trackable.
The research team found that this technology provides high level of accuracy and there is an improvement in existing tracking methods. The algorithm was tested on a large sample of more than 2,500 unique devices and 371,000 fingerprints, and researchers referred to 67% improvement than using any current fingerprint methods. In its current position, Dronaparte can fingerprint the graphics card in only eight seconds.
Eight seconds are ultrafast as it is, but there is a more accurate and faster tracking through the use of new, sharp APIs. The team instead tested using compute shader operations and found that the results were now 98% accurate and took only 150 milliseconds to get.
Although conclusions are impressive, it is impossible to deny that they are also terrible. We have been used to decline in cookies on all various websites, but Dronapart proves that it may not soon be enough. The research team is also aware of the ability to misuse that the GPU pose fingerprint.
“This is a sufficient improvement for stateless tracking obtained through the use of our new fingerprint method. […] We believe that it enhances practical concerns about users' privacy, which are subject to fingerprinting, ”the researchers said in their paper.
Since the GPU fingerprint technique may not require additional permission, users can only be subject to the internet by browsing it. Khronos, an organization in charge of the Webgl Library, are already searching for methods in which technology is to prevent the use of malicious manner.
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