Networked Printer Vulnerabilities
Today's multifunction printers do a lot more than just print. They offer features such as fax to email and wireless networking. Every new function adds another opportunity for hackers to exploit them . Research shows that printers are likely a common source of data loss among companies. A 2017 survey of 200 U.S. and European companies showed that more than half had experienced data loss incidents in the previous year linked to printers.
Among known malicious incidents, hackers have shown a preference for targeting the physical capabilities of printers, either disabling them or hijacking their printing functions. Here are some of the ways that printer attacks have been used in recent years. Attacks on banks often target printers as a way to reduce the situational awareness of the victims. Criminals have disabled printers that confirm SWIFT network transfers during attacks on numerous Indian banks. Ransomware known as Mamba, or HDDCryptor, can shut down printers by spreading across network shares via Server Message Block. In 2016, an internet troll caused printers worldwide to print an anti-Semitic flyer by sending a PostScript file to exposed Port 9100s.
Security researchers have been drawn to experiment on modern multifunction printers. In the process, they have uncovered a number of vulnerabilities. Telephone lines represent a weak point in most endpoint security solutions. In 2018, Check Point unveiled Faxploit, which is a method to run arbitrary remote code on a multifunction printer via the telephone lines it uses to fax. They demonstrated how that code could be used to deliver a secondary exploit and move through the network. This method is useful for bypassing firewalls on the unmonitored printer from which data can be stolen. In 2017, German researchers unveiled their printer exploitation toolkit ( PRET ), a proof-of-concept utility for hacking network printers. The tool allowed them to compromise potentially sensitive information from a wide variety of devices and force devices into an infinite loop denial-of-service attack, escalate privileges, or remotely execute code.
The modern printer another example of the growing threat of IoT devices in corporate and personal environments, and the baseline of threats that come along with it. Being aware of the potential security risks to multifunction printers is the first step in creating a more secure corporate environment.