YOUR PC HAS A VPN-PROOF SECRET ID

YOUR PC HAS A VPN-PROOF SECRET ID A 19-YEAR-OLD TRACKED ACROSS THREE COUNTRIES BY AN ID NUMBER SITTING INSIDE ALMOST EVERY WINDOWS PC ON SO HIS NAME IS PETER STOKES A US ESTONIAN CITIZEN WHO'S BEEN LINKED TO SCATTERED SPIDER THEY'RE THE HACKING GROUP BEHIND MGM CAESAR'S PALACE MILLION IN RANSOMWARE PAYMENTS ONE JOB TIED TO HIM WAS AN ATTEMPT TO SQUEEZE $8 MILLION IN CRYPTO RETAILER AND THEY REFUSED THEY KICKED THE UP EATING TWO MILLION IN CLEANUP HE RAN A VPN IT THROUGH DIFFERENT COUNTRIES THINKING THAT ANONYMOUS A VPN ONLY HIDES WHERE YOUR TRAFFIC COMES FROM TO THE IDENTIFIER THAT WINDOWS SPECIFIC INSTALLATION CALLED A GDID A GLOBAL DEVICE IDENTIFIER THAT MUCH INFORMATION COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE FBI'S OWN AFFIDAVIT HERE'S THE BIT BEING PIECED TOGETHER ONE INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER THE CASE SAYS THAT THE GDID ISN'T TIED TO YOUR MOTHERBOARD OR YOUR HARD DRIVE HE RECKONS IT'S A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT ID GENERATED THE MOMENT THAT WINDOWS REGISTERED WITH MICROSOFT AND THAT A FULL YOU A COMPLETELY NEW ONE THAT'S ONE PERSON'S ANALYSIS SO FAR NOT SOMETHING THAT MICROSOFT HAVE CONFIRMED BUT THAT SAME RESEARCHER ALSO CLAIMS THAT LOCAL ACCOUNTS IT OFF EITHER A FALLBACK PATH GENERATING AN ID EVEN WITH NO MICROSOFT SIGN-IN ONE SOURCE WORTH UP ANYWHERE ELSE BUT WHAT IS CONFIRMED INVESTIGATORS USED THAT GDID TO MATCH STOKES' LOGS FOR THE TOOL HIS BROWSING HISTORY AND EVEN HIS GAMING ALL TRACING BACK TO ONE MACHINE ONE INSTALLATION NO MATTER WHICH COUNTRY HE LOGGED THERE'S NO SETTINGS MENU TO VIEW YOUR GDID THERE'S NO TOGGLE TO DISABLE IT IT ONLY SURFACED BECAUSE A COURT ORDER FORCED MICROSOFT TO HAND IT OVER YOUR NETWORK ADDRESS ISN'T TRACKED WHEN YOU GO ONLINE YOUR MACHINE LEAVES A TRAIL THAT YOUR VPN DOESN'T HIDE