Beware of your office printers as they can be used for hacking

Do you know that computer viruses have now started infecting your office printer as well? The thought can be too scary when you find out that your faithful paper printer can be used by hackers to attack your computer. According to the security firm Symantec Corporation, cyber criminals are reaching new levels as they have begun leveraging the increased capabilities of high-tech printers to carry out attacks. So beware! Your printer can become the latest victim of a hacker.

Most of the modern printers have their own e-mail clients which are used to contact users. The hackers simply send e-mails that look like e-mails coming from printers with subject lines, such as “Fwd: Scan from a HP Officejet” and a message reading like “Attached document was scanned and sent using a Hewlett-Packard HP Officejet”, as reported by Computerworld. Now, who would believe that such e-mails can be potential bait for your computers? Such e-mails contain what appears to be a Zip file, and if you fall for it then the file automatically inserts a Trojan on your system, enabling the hackers to steal all your important documents and information. Networks of major global corporations like DuPont, Google, and Morgan Stanley have become the main targets of such attacks.

So next time, be careful if such e-mails appear to be from the company printers as they often include the target’s last name. Don’t get fooled by such kind of personalization which is one of the oldest tricks in the book for such spear-phishing attacks, and keep both your computer and printer safe.