Researchers have discovered a new tracking technique called FROST that allows websites to spy on visitors by analyzing their SSD activity. The method exploits a side-channel vulnerability to detect which other websites are open in different tabs and what applications are running on the user's device, requiring no user interaction beyond visiting the malicious site. This represents a significant privacy concern as it bypasses traditional tracking protections.
Background
Websites have long used various techniques to track users, from cookies to browser fingerprinting, but this represents a novel approach exploiting hardware-level interactions. Side-channel attacks have been a known security concern, but their application to SSD timing for web tracking is a new development.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- May 28, 2026 at 04:56 AM
- Score
- 8.0 / 10