SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTRODUCING VARIATION IN SUB-SYSTEM OUTPUT SIGNALS TO PREVENT DEVICE FINGERPRINTING

• US 20150180834A1
• Filed: 12/23/2013
• Published: 06/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Sobel, William E., McCorkendale, Bruce
• Granted Patent: US 9,154,466 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/12 for acoustic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/16 for telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/43 characterized by the control of the jamming power, signal-to-noise ratio or geographic coverage area
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/825 by jamming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for introducing variation in sub-system output signals to prevent device fingerprinting may include (1) intercepting, on a computing device, an output signal sent from a sub-system device on a computing device to a software component on the computing device, (2) identifying a margin of error for the output signal, (3), creating a modified output signal by introducing variation into the output signal in such a way that (a) the variation does not exceed the margin of error for the output signal and (b) the modified output signal cannot be used to identify the computing device, and (4) sending the modified output signal to the software component. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for introducing variation in sub-system output signals to prevent device fingerprinting, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

intercepting, on the computing device, an output signal sent from a sub-system device on the computing device to a software component on the computing device;

identifying a margin of error for the output signal;

creating a modified output signal by introducing variation into the output signal such that;

the variation does not exceed the margin of error for the output signal; and

the modified output signal cannot be used to identify the computing device;

sending the modified output signal to the software component.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein creating the modified output signal comprises creating the modified output signal using at least one of:

a device driver for the sub-system device;

firmware for the sub-system device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the software component is part of an application layer on the computing device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the software component comprises at least one of:

an operating system component;

an application component.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the margin of error for the output signal comprises an upper limit and a lower limit, and:

the variation does not exceed the upper limit of the margin of error; and

the variation does not exceed the lower limit of the margin of error.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sub-system device comprises at least one of:

a transducer;

a sensor;

a radio transmitter.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein creating the modified output signal comprises introducing randomly generated variation into the output signal.

8. A system for introducing variation in subsystem output signals to prevent device fingerprinting, the system comprising:

an interception module, stored in memory, that intercepts, on the computing device, an output signal sent from a sub-system device on the computing device to a software component on the computing device;

an identification module, stored in memory, that identifies a margin of error for the output signal;

a modification module, stored in memory, that creates a modified output signal by introducing variation into the output signal such that;

the variation does not exceed the margin of error for the output signal; and

the modified output signal cannot be used to identify the computing device;

a transmission module, stored in memory, that sends the modified output signal to the software component.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the modification module creates the modified output signal using at least one of:

a device driver for the sub-system device;

firmware for the sub-system device.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the software component is part of an application layer on the computing device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the software component comprises at least one of:

an operating system component;

an application component.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the margin of error for the output signal comprises an upper limit and a lower limit, and:

the variation does not exceed the upper limit of the margin of error; and

the variation does not exceed the lower limit of the margin of error.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the sub-system device comprises at least one of:

a transducer;

a sensor;

a radio transmitter.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the modification module creates the modified output signal by introducing randomly generated variation into the output signal.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

intercept, on the computing device, an output signal sent from a sub-system device on the computing device to a software component on the computing device;

identify a margin of error for the output signal;

create a modified output signal by introducing variation into the output signal such that;

the variation does not exceed the margin of error for the output signal; and

the modified output signal cannot be used to identify the computing device;

send the modified output signal to the software component.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more computer executable instructions cause the computing device to create the modified output signal by using at least one of:

a device driver for the sub-system device;

firmware for the sub-system device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 15, wherein the software component is part of an application layer on the computing device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 15, wherein the software component comprises at least one of:

an operating system component;

an application component.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 15, wherein the margin of error for the output signal comprises an upper limit and a lower limit, and the one or more computer-executable instructions cause the computing device to introduce variation such that:

the variation does not exceed the upper limit of the margin of error; and

the variation does not exceed the lower limit of the margin of error.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions cause the computing device to create the modified output signal by introducing randomly generated variation into the output signal.