Why printers add secret tracking dots

clubhouse1 · Jun 11, 2017

They’re almost invisible but contain a hidden code – and now their presence on a leaked document has sparked speculation about their usefulness to FBI investigators.
Click to expand...

On 3 June, FBI agents arrived at the house of government contractor Reality Leigh Winner in Augusta, Georgia. They had spent the last two days investigating a top secret classified document that had allegedly been leaked to the press. In order to track down Winner, agents claim they had carefully studied copies of the document provided by online news site The Intercept and noticed creases suggesting that the pages had been printed and “hand-carried out of a secured space”.

In an affidavit, the FBI alleges that Winner admitted printing the National Security Agency (NSA) report and sending it to The Intercept. Shortly after a story about the leak was published, charges against Winner were made public.
Click to expand...

full article....

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170607-why-printers-add-secret-tracking-dots[/QUOTE]

ExtremeGamerBR · Jun 11, 2017

This technology is one way that governments secretly pressured industry to change products to undermine privacy and anonymous speech when the law did not require it. This should make us all wonder how else the government is working in secret to undermine privacy and speech. We should insist that companies be transparent about how government requests have affected the design of the products we use, since those designs can have profound implications.

Click to expand...

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/06/printer-tracking-dots-back-news

xxJackxx · Jun 12, 2017

This was implemented as an anti-counterfeiting measure a long time ago. I don't know why people are surprised now.

guest · Jun 27, 2018

Researchers release app that masks printers’ tracking dots
June 27, 2018
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2018/06/27/app-masks-printers-tracking-dots/

Did you know that nearly all modern color laser printers put tracking patterns of tiny yellow dots on each piece of paper they print?

Most printer manufacturers include these yellow dot patterns, which reveal information such as the serial number of the printer and the date and time when the document was printed. They are effectively invisible to the naked eye and they are ostensibly used to identify suspects in criminal counterfeit investigations.
Masking the tracking dot patterns
Computer scientists Timo Richter and Stephan Escher from TU Dresden wanted to decode the various patterns and see whether they can mask them to effectively “anonymize” the printed document and, therefore, the person who printed it.

They also found a way to completely delete or mask the patterns in a way that don’t allow the pattern to be reconstructed.
Finally, they created and made available an app that automates the TDM extraction, analysis, and the creation and implementation of an anonymization pattern.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Why printers add secret tracking dots

clubhouse1 Registered Member

ExtremeGamerBR Registered Member

xxJackxx Registered Member

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Why printers add secret tracking dots

clubhouse1 Registered Member

ExtremeGamerBR Registered Member

xxJackxx Registered Member

guest Guest

Useful Searches