Microsoft Can Track Users via a Windows Device ID
A criminal complaint reveals that Microsoft uses a 'Global Device ID' to track Windows PCs, which helped the FBI link a suspect to a hacking group. This discovery has raised privacy concerns regarding the extent of Microsoft's ability to monitor user activity.
<p>The arrest of a teenage hacker has revealed that Microsoft can track a Windows PC and its online activity through a "Global Device ID" that seems to have no easy opt-out, sparking fears about potential surveillance. </p><p>Last week, the US announced it had <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alleged-member-criminal-cyber-hacking-group-scattered-spider-arrested-finland-and-extradited" target="_blank" title="(Opens in a new tab)">extradited</a> 19-year-old Peter Stokes from Europe for allegedly being a member of the notorious hacking group <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/notorious-hacking-group-scattered-spider-targets-us-airlines" target="_self">Scattered Spider.</a> But the case stands out because Microsoft played a key role in linking Stokes to the suspected hacking crimes, according to an unsealed criminal complaint. </p><img src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20432'%3E%3Crect%20fill='%23f7f7f7'%20/%3E%3C/svg%3E" class="" data-image-loader="https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/articles/02VZVE6JO9dXqKyKowYhZzj-6.png" data-lazy-sized alt="Peter Stokes" data-image-path="articles/02VZVE6JO9dXqKyKowYhZzj-6.png">
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