FROST: SSD-based Browser Fingerprinting Threat
🛡️ Researchers at Graz University of Technology describe FROST, a novel side-channel technique that uses the browser's origin private file system (OPFS) to monitor SSD timing and infer user activity. A malicious webpage leveraging OPFS can repeatedly access storage, measuring micro-delays that reveal what apps or websites are active. The team demonstrated data transmission rates around 660–720 bits/s with ~90% accuracy and used AI to classify app and site fingerprints. Practical constraints — RAM caching, large file creation, and likely EDR/XDR detection — limit FROST to targeted attacks, but it highlights hardware-level blind spots in modern security.