Microsoft-ын хэрэглэгчийн мэдээлэл цуглуулдаг GDID үйлчилгээ нь кибер гэмт хэрэгтнийг баривчлахад гол нотлох баримт болсон нь нууцлалын асуудлыг дахин хөндөж байна.
АНУ-ын Хууль зүйн яам Scattered Spider хакерын бүлэглэлтэй холбоотой 19 настай Питер Стоксыг баривчилснаа зарлалаа. Тус бүлэглэл нь 100 гаруй сүлжээнд халдаж, 100 сая гаруй ам.долларын барьцаа нэхэмжилсэн хэрэгт холбогдоод байгаа юм. Стоксыг VPN болон бусад нууцлалын хэрэгсэл ашигласан ч Windows-ын Global Device Identifier (GDID) системийн бүртгэлээр дамжуулан илрүүлжээ.
Microsoft шүүхийн шийдвэрийн дагуу Стоксын төхөөрөмжтэй холбоотой мэдээллийг хууль сахиулах байгууллагад шилжүүлсэн байна. Үүнээс гадна тэрээр Snapchat дээр тансаг амьдралаа илтгэсэн зураг нийтэлж, нисэх онгоцны буудал дээр баривчлагдах үедээ гэмт хэрэгтэй холбоотой нотлох баримт бүхий хоёр хатуу диск биедээ авч явжээ.
Энэхүү үйл явдал нь Microsoft-ын хэрэглэгчээс зөвшөөрөл авалгүйгээр мэдээлэл цуглуулдаг GDID системийн талаарх шүүмжлэлийг улам нэмэгдүүлэв. Proton зэрэг нууцлалын үйлчилгээ үзүүлэгчид уг системийг “spyware” буюу тагнуулын программтай зүйрлэж, хэрэглэгчийн хувийн нууц болон техник хангамжийн эзэмшлийн асуудлыг хөндөн тавьж байна. Олон хэрэглэгчид ийм төрлийн хяналтаас зайлсхийхийн тулд Linux үйлдлийн систем рүү шилжихийг зөвлөж байна.
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Windows GDID (Global Device Identifier), its own telemetry service, has drawn ire from users for some time. Turns out the data it tracks can be used by law enforcement to incriminate alleged hackers, which is both a decent outcome and sort of worrisome if you think about it too much.
As noted by TechSpot, the US Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs recently announced the arrest of 19-year-old Peter Stokes. Linked to the hacking group Scattered Spider, who are reportedly responsible for 100 network intrusions and over $100 million in ransom payments, the thing that reportedly incriminated him was his Windows GDID.
Back in May last year, Scattered Spider reportedly called the IT helpdesk of a jewellery seller posing as employees and managed to talk them into handing over password reset details. This then gave the group access to three accounts, for which Scattered Spider asked for $8 million in ransom money. Though the jeweller didn’t pay, it did reportedly cost the brand $2 million.
Despite using a VPN and a tunnelling service to mask his traffic, Stokes was reportedly caught due to his GDID, which logged information on the device. A court order seemingly forced Microsoft to hand over all the evidence linking Stokes to that machine, and this was used by the US government to justify its arrest.
This wasn’t helped by the fact that Stokes seemingly showed off his wealth by posting photos of fancy hotels on Snapchat. The 39-page judgment details not only the GDID link but the Snapchat bragging.
Stokes was seemingly stopped at the airport by law enforcement, and he was reportedly carrying two hard drives with evidence in them, linking him to the crime.
Though stopping potential hackers is in the interest of those who don’t want to be hacked, the way law enforcement caught Stokes is only more likely to stoke fears around GDID. Proton, a privacy-focused mail, drive, and VPN service provider, discusses “Windows as spyware”, and though in this case, “the system worked as intended”, it argues “GDID raises important questions about user consent and who actually owns the hardware you pay for.”
Proton makes note of the fact that users don’t explicitly consent to GDID and its data tracking trappings. “In all of Microsoft’s extensive online documentation, GlobalDeviceId merits a single mention buried in a highly obscure technical document that no one is ever likely to read.”
As you might be able to guess, Proton’s advice is that if you want to do away with GDID, you should swap to Linux. And with the last few years Microsoft has had, it’s easy to see why one might want to move away from its software.
