In a startling revelation, HP CEO Enrique Lores unveils a darkish secret
inside ink cartridges—hackers can infiltrate them with viruses.
In accordance with tech website Ars
Technica, HP’s discovery serves because the impetus behind the corporate’s
implementation of the Dynamic Safety system (DSS), a transfer that is now on the
middle of a authorized firestorm. In accordance with Lores, “We now have seen that you may
embed viruses within the cartridges. Via the cartridge, [the virus can] go to
the print, [and then] from the printer, go to the community.”
The DSS, designed to make sure HP printers solely perform with particular
cartridges, is going through a lawsuit accusing the corporate of withholding crucial
data from prospects.
As HP grapples with lawsuits difficult the ramifications of its
Dynamic Safety system, prospects are alleging an absence of transparency
concerning firmware updates. These updates, supposed to dam non-HP cartridges
from working of their printers, resulted in printers turning into inoperative,
prompting authorized motion. The lawsuit seeks an injunction towards HP, stopping
them from deploying updates that render printers incompatible with third-party
cartridges.
HP CEO: Blocking third-party ink from printers fights viruses https://t.co/CIf8kKN6Bw
— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) January 22, 2024
Securing Printers and Subscription Revenues
Enrique Lores, President and CEO, HP (LinkedIn).
Lores claimed that cartridges can function gateways for viruses, posing
threats to each prints and networks whereas addressing the controversy. This
startling discovery underscores a strategic push in the direction of fortifying its
subscription mannequin. HP, seemingly leveraging potential cartridge vulnerabilities, seems to be attempting to sway shoppers in the direction of committing to HP ink. Any such tactic would align with the
firm’s broader technique of recouping earnings by recurring revenues through
applications like Prompt Ink.
The Fly within the Ointment
However there’s an issue. Whereas cyber crime is on the up, there doesn’t appear to be a menace out of your printer. A 2022
piece by Actionable Intelligence spilled the beans on a possible weak spot
within the system. A researcher, little doubt a part of the key society of printer
hackers, unearthed a nifty trick to infiltrate a printer utilizing a insurgent
third-party ink cartridge. Nevertheless, the plot thickens—when trying the identical
escapade with an HP cartridge, our rogue genius hit a snag. It didn’t work.
Behold, the beginning of HP’s defensive maneuvers! The tech maestros at HP,
stirred by the prospect of a cartridge coup d’état, determined it was excessive time to
thwart any potential ink-soaked shenanigans. The catch? As they cloak their
printers in a protect of safety, HP concedes there isn’t any concrete proof of
this ink-centric heist taking place within the wild. It is like guarding the gates towards
an invisible horde—solely within the whimsical world of printer espionage. When it comes to fearmongering, Lores might solely have been extra on level if he’d thrown in phrases like Synthetic Intelligence (AI ), deepfake, or id theft.
Properly! Thanks be to HP for retaining us and permitting us to make use of their
cartridges.
In a startling revelation, HP CEO Enrique Lores unveils a darkish secret
inside ink cartridges—hackers can infiltrate them with viruses.
In accordance with tech website Ars
Technica, HP’s discovery serves because the impetus behind the corporate’s
implementation of the Dynamic Safety system (DSS), a transfer that is now on the
middle of a authorized firestorm. In accordance with Lores, “We now have seen that you may
embed viruses within the cartridges. Via the cartridge, [the virus can] go to
the print, [and then] from the printer, go to the community.”
The DSS, designed to make sure HP printers solely perform with particular
cartridges, is going through a lawsuit accusing the corporate of withholding crucial
data from prospects.
As HP grapples with lawsuits difficult the ramifications of its
Dynamic Safety system, prospects are alleging an absence of transparency
concerning firmware updates. These updates, supposed to dam non-HP cartridges
from working of their printers, resulted in printers turning into inoperative,
prompting authorized motion. The lawsuit seeks an injunction towards HP, stopping
them from deploying updates that render printers incompatible with third-party
cartridges.
HP CEO: Blocking third-party ink from printers fights viruses https://t.co/CIf8kKN6Bw
— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) January 22, 2024
Securing Printers and Subscription Revenues
Enrique Lores, President and CEO, HP (LinkedIn).
Lores claimed that cartridges can function gateways for viruses, posing
threats to each prints and networks whereas addressing the controversy. This
startling discovery underscores a strategic push in the direction of fortifying its
subscription mannequin. HP, seemingly leveraging potential cartridge vulnerabilities, seems to be attempting to sway shoppers in the direction of committing to HP ink. Any such tactic would align with the
firm’s broader technique of recouping earnings by recurring revenues through
applications like Prompt Ink.
The Fly within the Ointment
However there’s an issue. Whereas cyber crime is on the up, there doesn’t appear to be a menace out of your printer. A 2022
piece by Actionable Intelligence spilled the beans on a possible weak spot
within the system. A researcher, little doubt a part of the key society of printer
hackers, unearthed a nifty trick to infiltrate a printer utilizing a insurgent
third-party ink cartridge. Nevertheless, the plot thickens—when trying the identical
escapade with an HP cartridge, our rogue genius hit a snag. It didn’t work.
Behold, the beginning of HP’s defensive maneuvers! The tech maestros at HP,
stirred by the prospect of a cartridge coup d’état, determined it was excessive time to
thwart any potential ink-soaked shenanigans. The catch? As they cloak their
printers in a protect of safety, HP concedes there isn’t any concrete proof of
this ink-centric heist taking place within the wild. It is like guarding the gates towards
an invisible horde—solely within the whimsical world of printer espionage. When it comes to fearmongering, Lores might solely have been extra on level if he’d thrown in phrases like Synthetic Intelligence (AI ), deepfake, or id theft.
Properly! Thanks be to HP for retaining us and permitting us to make use of their
cartridges.
