Is this true or just a scam?? Copiers security risk!

[iamgenius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8vmXarBURo


I don't see a need for a hard drive in a copier machine or a multi-function machine. I was always under the assumption that copiers don't retain data permanently inside them. Buffer memory is there to do the temp storage!


Something is fishy here.

What do you say?

 

[smakme7757]

I didn't watch the video, but i have heard that some printers were keeping copies of data on a hard drive inside the printer.

I have no idea why though.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

All of the big copiers contain hard drives at the very least for the software, many of them scan the documents to the hard drive and cache them there.

Each one behaves differently but there is a huge risk for data leaks, the best bet is to scrub the hard drive before selling on the copier, it will require having the printer software reinstalled so you might have to consult with a repair engineer first before doing anything so you know the proceedure for restoring the factory default software to the disk.

 

[JBT]

I've heard of some copiers containing 40GB drives that only roll off files once they have filled up. (Similar to logs on a server)

 

[iamgenius]

All of the big copiers contain hard drives at the very least for the software, many of them scan the documents to the hard drive and cache them there.

Each one behaves differently but there is a huge risk for data leaks, the best bet is to scrub the hard drive before selling on the copier, it will require having the printer software reinstalled so you might have to consult with a repair engineer first before doing anything so you know the proceedure for restoring the factory default software to the disk.

Weird. I thought technology is advanced enough nowadays to build buffer memory big enough to hold data for every day job.

 

[seepy83]

Weird. I thought technology is advanced enough nowadays to build buffer memory big enough to hold data for every day job.

They probably do have enough RAM to handle jobs on the fly, but in most cases that's not the way that the software running on them has been engineered to work.

Modern copiers are actually Multi-Function Printers, and they do a lot more than just make copies. Most of them let you store print jobs right on the device instead of sending the job to the printer from a computer. Many of them can run custom applications right on the copier (see Sharp's Open Systems Architecture for example). Any of the copiers that are doing Scan-To-Email or Scan-To-Network Share need to store configurations and credentials to authenticate with other servers. The Hard Drives in MFPs need to be treated like PC or Server disks when they are retired.

 

[Mushkins]

Seepy is correct, there are hard drives in pretty much every large business MFP. Between settings/firmware and job storage features they need a non-volatile storage medium larger than your typical onboard NVRAM. They could use expensive NVRAM chips, or they could throw in a small and slow spinning disk for a fraction of the price. It also caches the print queue to the HDD so when you inevitably need to power cycle the device because a print job gets stuck, the 200 jobs backed up behind it aren't lost to the aether and you don't have a line of pissed off users wondering why it didn't print that thing they printed this morning and were too lazy to come pick up.

These drives absolutely need to be wiped before selling or decommissioning the device.

 

[Wolfpup]

This is why I try to avoid making copies of anything important on a public copier anymore :-/

 

[Jeff7181]

It's amazing to me how important printing is to some people still these days. You'd think the building was on fire the way some users act when a printer goes down in an office. I get that hard copies are sometimes necessary in some businesses, but I recall when I worked in tech support a user flipping out because she couldn't print her "to do list" for the day. As if she wouldn't be able to even start a task without a printed copy of her to do list.