User Device Fingerprinting for Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing access control systems face challenges in distinguishing between authorized and unauthorized user devices, leading to unnecessary impediments for legitimate users and potential unauthorized access, which can cause damage such as resource overuse or spam.
Innovation Solution
An access control system that uses a persistent cookie with a fingerprint signature to identify authorized user devices across sessions, allowing for reduced challenges for authorized users while detecting abnormal changes that may indicate unauthorized access, thereby improving access control accuracy and user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional access control methods are used to block unauthorized users, then security against unauthorized access is improved, but legitimate authorized users experience unnecessary impediments and frustration
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of user devices using fingerprints before access decisions are made. By pre-characterizing devices with unique fingerprints and storing them in a database, the system can quickly recognize authorized devices without requiring them to go through challenging authentication processes during each access attempt, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining security
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where access control decisions are continuously refined based on fingerprint matching results. The system learns from patterns in device fingerprints and access behaviors, adjusting its discrimination between authorized and unauthorized users over time, which improves both security reliability and user experience for legitimate users
2Measurement precision
If access control challenges are imposed on all users to verify authorization, then detection of unauthorized users is improved, but processing time and user frustration increase for all users including authorized ones
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments users into different categories based on fingerprint matching results. Users with matching fingerprints are identified as authorized and granted expedited access, while users without matches are subjected to full authentication challenges. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high detection precision for unauthorized users while minimizing time loss for authorized users
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial authentication actions only when necessary. Instead of requiring full authentication challenges for all users, the system applies minimal verification for fingerprint-matched users and reserves excessive authentication measures only for suspicious cases, thereby reducing overall processing time while maintaining detection accuracy
3Reliability
If device fingerprints are used to identify authorized users, then false positives and negatives are reduced, but system complexity increases due to fingerprint collection and comparison processes
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where user devices automatically provide fingerprint information without requiring manual configuration or complex setup. The fingerprint data is collected passively through normal device operations and automatically processed by the access control system, reducing the perceived complexity for users while maintaining high identification accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of device characteristics in the form of fingerprints that can be easily stored and compared. Instead of analyzing complex device configurations and behaviors, the system generates compact fingerprint representations that capture essential device identity information, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining reliable user identification
Data Source
AI summary
A method of determining whether to provide user access to a computer resource may comprise receiving a request for the computer resource from a user device; obtaining, from the user device, an encrypted persistent cookie responsive to determining that the encrypted persistent cookie is present on the user device, wherein the encrypted persistent cookie comprises a fingerprint signature field comprising a previous device fingerprint encoded into the fingerprint signature field as part of a previous session; obtaining, from the user device, an obtained device fingerprint of the user device; comparing the obtained device fingerprint with the previous device fingerprint of the fingerprint signature field to derive a fingerprint variance representing a difference between the obtained device fingerprint and the previous device fingerprint of the fingerprint signature field; and processing the request for the computer resource based on the fingerprint variance.