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 Remember the decades’ old monstrosity called the fax machine, taking up valuable real estate in either the home or office?
My father was so enchanted by the fax machine back in the mid to late 90s that as soon as it became relatively affordable, he ran out and bought the device; a pointless but awe-inspiring piece of equipment that sat in our “home office” waiting for faxes that would never come.
As it turned out, we had little use for our fax machine, yet all of these years later it seems that there are industries that still rely on the machines to communicate vital information, which is what inspired one security firm to investigate whether such devices are vulnerable to hacking.
Spoiler alert: They are.
Think outdated technology and electronic equipment is safe from hackers? Think again, according to recent findings from the cyber security firm Check Point.
According to reports, the Israel-based team discovered that tens of millions of old office fax machines can be used as a backdoor, allowing hackers a point of entry into an organization’s network.
The security flaw, according to the report, allows hackers to send an image file (or a file that mimics an image file) containing malicious software via phone line. Once the image is received, it is decoded and uploaded into the memory of the fax machine, thereby granting the hackers control over the device and encouraging the spread of the malicious code throughout the network.
"Many companies may not even be aware they have a fax machine connected to their network, but fax capability is built into many multifunction office and home printers," said Yaniv Balmas, group manager of security research at Check Point.
Considering that a number of industries still use fax machines, including industries that deal in sensitive data such as banking, healthcare and law, experts suggest that companies should determine whether these devices can be updated. Additionally, experts recommend placing fax machines on a secure network separate from networks carrying sensitive data.
Do you still use a fax machine?
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