LEVL-ID AS A PRIVACY FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVE TO THE MAC addresS
MAC RANDOMIZATION - A HUGE STEP FORWARD FOR PRIVACY BUT 2 STEPS BACK FOR NETWORKING
Major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and recently Apple are promoting the randomization of the MAC (media access control) address, even down to a daily randomization basis. While this constitutes a huge and welcomed step forward for user privacy, it impacts many services that use the MAC address for device identification. These services include
- Network Login
- Pay-per-use day passes
- Whitelist/Blacklist based security
- Network optimization and troubleshooting
- Personalized App experiences
- Parental control
- And more…
Watch how LEVL’s platform helps with device identification without relying on the MAC address:
FOR ISPs: BALANCING CONSUMER PRIVACY AND NETWORK MANAGEMENT
MAC address is used by ISPs for a variety of use-cases. These include network management and troubleshooting by correlating logs for a certain device over multiple days, parental control to enforce certain rules for certain devices and network optimization. In addition MAC addresses are used for security purposes such as whitelist/blacklisting as well as port-forwarding and more. Randomizing MAC addresses, while it will increase user’s privacy it will limit the effectiveness of many services ISPs can provide and hence will cause lower revenue and increase technical support costs.
FOR HOSPITALITY: BALANCING CONSUMER PRIVACY AND NETWORK MANAGEMENT
The Hotel / Hospitality industry, like many others, is concerned with both guest digital privacy and a personalized, high-quality guest experience. For years, a variety of hotel systems have been able to rely on a device’s MAC address as a method of positively identifying a device, and thus a guest, to deliver a more seamless, high quality, guest experience. However, more recently, device manufacturers have been taking more concrete steps to ensure user privacy and one of those is to randomize device MAC addresses. These actions, though extremely helpful for user privacy, will come at a very real cost to guests, properties and the supporting industry.
THE LEVL-ID: A BALANCE OF PRIVACY AND IDENTIFICATION
At LEVL, we take a novel approach to device identification. LEVL uses a full-stack approach, leveraging data from all 7 layers of the OSI model to create a LEVL-ID, a unique identifier for every device on the network. The LEVL-ID is created passively, it is not stored on the device and it is never transmitted over the air directly. As a result, it is highly effective in preserving consumer privacy while still identifying the device. LEVL-IDs are constructed in a manner to localize them to a network. Thus, there is little value to bad actors to collect LEVL-IDs. As a result, LEVL-IDs are privacy friendly, easy to implement, and cost effective. Lastly, LEVL-ID does not depend on legacy device identifiers such as the MAC address and remains persistent even if the MAC address changes frequently.
Passive and Agent-less
No impact on the device
FULL STACK
PHYSICAL LAYER AND DIGITAL LAYER INTELLIGENCE
PRIVACY FRIENDLY
No access to digital data or encryption keys needed
OUT-OF-BAND
No impact on the network
SOFTWARE ONLY SOLUTION
Easy and fast deployment
Let us help you with your product
If you are a Wi-Fi router/hub manufacturer, you can easily eliminate your customers’ chances of a cyberattack and increase the marketability of your product by incorporating radio fingerprinting by LEVL. Learn how to incorporate LEVL’s agentless, software-only solution in your product by starting here on our developer page.
LET US HELP YOU manage YOUR nETWORK
LEVL can deliver and aftermarket security solution to your operations which will provide all the benefits discussed above. If you are interested in learning more about how LEVL can harden your network, please contact us.
