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Desktop scanners can be hijacked to perpetrate cyberattacks

Date:
March 28, 2017
Source:
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Summary:
The researchers conducted several demonstrations to transmit a message into computers connected to a flatbed scanner. Using direct laser light sources up to a half-mile (900 meters) away, as well as on a drone outside their office building, the researchers successfully sent a message to trigger malware through the scanner.
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A typical office scanner can be infiltrated and a company's network compromised using different light sources, according to a new paper by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

"In the paper, "Oops! I Think I Scanned Malware," we demonstrated how to use a laser or smart bulb to establish a covert channel between an outside attacker and malware installed on a networked computer," says lead author Ben Nassi, a graduate student in the BGU Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering as well as a researcher at the BGU Cyber Security Research Center (CSRC). "A scanner with the lid left open is sensitive to changes in the surrounding light and might be used as a back door into a company's network."

The researchers conducted several demonstrations to transmit a message into computers connected to a flatbed scanner. Using direct laser light sources up to a half-mile (900 meters) away, as well as on a drone outside their office building, the researchers successfully sent a message to trigger malware through the scanner.

In another demonstration, the researchers used a Galaxy 4 Smartphone to hijack a smart lightbulb (using radio signals) in the same room as the scanner. Using a program they wrote, they manipulated the smart bulb to emit pulsating light that delivered the triggering message in only seconds.

To mitigate this vulnerability, the researchers recommend organizations connect a scanner to the network through a proxy server -- a computer that acts as an intermediary -- which would prevent establishing a covert channel. This might be considered an extreme solution, however, since it also limits printing and faxing remotely on all-in-one devices.

"We believe this study will increase the awareness to this threat and result in secured protocols for scanning that will prevent an attacker from establishing such a covert channel through an external light source, smart bulb, TV, or other IoT (Internet of Things) device," Nassi says.


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Ben Nassi, Adi Shamir, Yuval Elovici. Oops!..I think I scanned a malware. ARXIV, March 2017

Cite This Page:

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "Desktop scanners can be hijacked to perpetrate cyberattacks." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 March 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170328132155.htm>.
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. (2017, March 28). Desktop scanners can be hijacked to perpetrate cyberattacks. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 10, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170328132155.htm
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "Desktop scanners can be hijacked to perpetrate cyberattacks." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170328132155.htm (accessed December 10, 2024).

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