Using clock drift, clock skew, and network latency to enhance machine identification

A method for identifying a user device, the method comprising:

• receiving account identification information from the user device;
• receiving a network packet containing a timestamp;
• determining an elapsed time based at least in part on the timestamp;
• determining a clock skew for the user device based at least in part on the elapsed time, a reference clock, and an expected latency;
• comparing the clock skew to a second clock skew associated with the account identification information, the second clock skew based at least in part on a previously determined clock skew;
• determining a confidence rating in identification of the user device based on the comparing the clock skew to the second clock skew;
• and
• authenticating the user device based on the confidence rating.

A system comprising:

• a non-transitory memory storing instructions;
• and
• one or more hardware processors configured to execute the instructions to cause the system to perform operations comprising:
• receiving account identification information from the user device;
• receiving a network packet containing a timestamp;
• determining an elapsed time based at least in part on the timestamp;
• determining a clock skew for the user device based at least in part on the elapsed time, a reference clock, and an expected latency;
• comparing the clock skew to a second clock skew associated with the account identification information, the second clock skew based at least in part on a previously determined clock skew;
• determining a confidence rating in identification of the user device based on the comparing the clock skew to the second clock skew;
• and
• authenticating the user device based on the confidence rating.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

• receiving account identification information from the user device;
• receiving a network packet containing a timestamp;
• determining an elapsed time based at least in part on the timestamp;
• determining a clock skew for the user device based at least in part on the elapsed time, a reference clock, and an expected latency;
• comparing the clock skew to a second clock skew associated with the account identification information, the second clock skew based at least in part on a previously determined clock skew;
• determining a confidence rating in identification of the user device based on the comparing the clock skew to the second clock skew;
• and
• authenticating the user device based on the confidence rating.