Security News > 2022 > December > UID smuggling: A new technique for tracking users online

Advertisers have responded by pioneering a new method for tracking users across the Web, known as user ID smuggling, which does not require third-party cookies.

Researchers at UC San Diego have for the first time sought to quantify the frequency of UID smuggling in the wild, by developing a measurement tool called CrumbCruncher.

CrumbCruncher navigates the Web like an ordinary user, but along the way, it keeps track of how many times it has been tracked using UID smuggling.

The researchers found that UID smuggling was present in about 8 percent of the navigations that CrumbCruncher made.

UID smuggling can have legitimate uses, the researchers say.

A data broker could use UID smuggling to gather a database of users' Internet navigation.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/19/uid-smuggling-tracking-users-online/