For a long time, the biggest weakness in web security hasn’t just been your password but your “session cookies.” These tiny digital tokens allow you to stay logged into your favorite sites without re-entering your credentials every five minutes. Unfortunately, hackers have perfected “infostealer” malware to snatch these cookies, allowing them to hijack your accounts even if you have two-factor authentication enabled. To fight infostealers, Google has officially launched a feature called Device Bound Session Credentials (DBSC) in Chrome 146 for Windows.
How Chrome’s DBSC system locks down your login
The concept behind DBSC is simple but brilliant: instead of letting your login cookies float freely in your browser‘s memory, Chrome now “binds” them to your specific device. According to Google, this protection works by using your computer’s physical security chip—the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on Windows. Chrome generates a unique cryptographic key that lives inside that chip and, crucially, can never be exported or copied. When a website asks for your cookie, it now also requires proof that the private key is present on the machine.
Making stolen data useless
In the past, companies had to detect a theft after it happened. Now, even if a piece of malware successfully steals your cookies and sends them to a hacker in another country, those cookies are effectively dead on arrival. Without the physical security chip in your laptop to “unlock” the session, the attacker has nothing but a useless string of code.
Testing has already shown impressive results. During early trials with platforms like Okta, Google noticed a significant drop in successful account hijackings.
Availability, Privacy-focused approach
The feature is currently live for Windows users. However, Mac owners can expect similar protection via the “Secure Enclave” chip in an upcoming release.
One common concern with device-based security is tracking. To address this, Google made privacy a top priority when developing DBSC. You get a different key for each website you visit, so companies can’t use these credentials to see what you’re doing on different sites. The system doesn’t leak away your device’s serial number or any other personal information. Instead, it simply proves that the person logging in is using the same physical device that started the session.
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