Interesting article, but what exactly are the benefits of hijacking a printer??

Interesting article, but what exactly are the benefits of hijacking a printer??

@Plastkort: peope do not send important files via emails. if they transfer them they use either optical media (CDs, DVDs, etc) or they simply print them, because afterall “you can simply burn a paper” (okay you can burn a cd, too, but that’s not the point. The point is that their mind set tells them that if they have it on paper, it is safe.)

now if you are to hack a printer, you can “intercept” these documents and download them. by doing so, senstive information can be accessed.

now if this is reasonable or not is a different thing, however most printers (such as our brother printer) are not secured (or if so badly), so this is the next generation of hacking.

@Plastkort: peope do not send important files via emails. if they transfer them they use either optical media (CDs, DVDs, etc) or they simply print them, because afterall “you can simply burn a paper” (okay you can burn a cd, too, but that’s not the point. The point is that their mind set tells them that if they have it on paper, it is safe.)

now if you are to hack a printer, you can “intercept” these documents and download them. by doing so, senstive information can be accessed.

now if this is reasonable or not is a different thing, however most printers (such as our brother printer) are not secured (or if so badly), so this is the next generation of hacking.

@jez would printing user and password not violate security policies?

@Au pair: it is not really about printing usernames and passwords, but about the information that can be gained from the output that would else go into a manager’s bag and get carried home. or imagine intercepting the latest production and sales figures of competitors – the field is basically open to everything… if you were to get engaged in this kind of activity.

@jez would printing user and password not violate security policies?

@Au pair: it is not really about printing usernames and passwords, but about the information that can be gained from the output that would else go into a manager’s bag and get carried home. or imagine intercepting the latest production and sales figures of competitors – the field is basically open to everything… if you were to get engaged in this kind of activity.

[...] This piece at h4x3d is a bit technical — not surprising considering the name of the site — and comes to the same conclusion as many others: Printers are not adequately secured. The writer proved this by testing with his own printer, which is a Brother. The machine was easily accessible from four access points and not protected by MAC filtering. It was easy to catch passwords, the writer says. [...]

While loading malicious code on a printer or sniffing packets from them is possible it’s also highly unlikely due to the various versions of firmware, protocols and overall network security in most corporations now. We’ve been installing copiers all year that have the option to send all prints over SSL, so that’s a big leap in printer security.

While loading malicious code on a printer or sniffing packets from them is possible it’s also highly unlikely due to the various versions of firmware, protocols and overall network security in most corporations now. We’ve been installing copiers all year that have the option to send all prints over SSL, so that’s a big leap in printer security.