Report: Fax Machines Susceptible to Cyberattacks

All-in-one printer-fax machines are susceptible to hacking, with just a fax number required to carry out a cyberattack, according to a new study from Israel-based software company Check Point.

The report estimates there are more than 17 million fax machines in use in the United States alone and professionals in the legal and medical business continue to rely heavily on the machines because they are widely considered a more secure form of transmitting sensitive information and signatures compared to email. Real estate firms and banks also frequently send documents via fax.

Researchers used the HP Officejet all-in-one printers as a test case, and found a way to hack into the machine and take control of the device and access the rest of the network by sending an image file that contains malicious software over the phone line.

"From this point, through a process of lateral movement, the attacker would be able to hop from one part of the network to the next infecting a wider portion of it as he progresses," the researchers wrote. "Upon such an attack, it would be a matter of seconds before an entire network was compromised and you had an intruder well embedded across your systems."

HP released a patch for its products before the report was published, but the report said the vulnerability may "well still apply to devices from other manufacturers” that use similar technology.

The vulnerability applies only if a device is connected to a telephone line.

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