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Secret code in color printers enables government tracking


hazelnut

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A research team led by the EFF recently broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.

 

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18995

 

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True,  but part of the code has only now been broken and has become readable.

 

 

research team led by the EFF recently broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.

The U.S. Secret Service admitted that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers, ostensibly to identify counterfeiters. However, the nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.

 

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"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer,"

 

So what?

 

A date and a printer ID, hardly identifying you and stealing your info is it?

*** Out of Beer Error ->->-> Recovering Memory ***

Worried about 'Tracking Files'? Worried about why some files come back after cleaning? See this link:
https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/52668-tracking-files/?tab=comments#comment-300043

 

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So what?A date and a printer ID, hardly identifying you and stealing your info is it?

Date time proves when the illegal documents were created; paired with the serial number, law enforcement agencies would be able, with relative certainty, to ascertain who printed them (especially if the SN points to a business or public device).

 

 

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many agencies have used this 'unknown' feature for decades to prove printed material were produced from a persons of interests' printer.

bit of a smoking gun when putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

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  • 3 weeks later...

All of the above and much much more I never think about these days, all of which was known by yours truly as I spent many years in a previous life working for Canon Australia in a professional colour specialist role and have seen this technology used in identifying counterfeit culprits. This technology started back in the days of the first Colour photocopier manufacture by Canon and Xerox.

Always With Kind Regards

Tasgandy

"one is never too old to listen & learn"

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