Posted on 10/18/2005 6:54:07 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
Tiny Dots Show Where and When You Made Your Print
San Francisco - A research team led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.
The U.S. Secret Service admitted that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers, ostensibly to identify counterfeiters. However, the nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.
"We've found that the dots from at least one line of printers encode the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer," said EFF Staff Technologist Seth David Schoen.
You can see the dots on color prints from machines made by Xerox, Canon, and other manufacturers (for a list of the printers we investigated so far, see: http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/list.php). The dots are yellow, less than one millimeter in diameter, and are typically repeated over each page of a document. In order to see the pattern, you need a blue light, a magnifying glass, or a microscope (for instructions on how to see the dots, see: http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/).
EFF and its partners began its project to break the printer code with the Xerox DocuColor line. Researchers Schoen, EFF intern Robert Lee, and volunteers Patrick Murphy and Joel Alwen compared dots from test pages sent in by EFF supporters, noting similarities and differences in their arrangement, and then found a simple way to read the pattern.
"So far, we've only broken the code for Xerox DocuColor printers," said Schoen. "But we believe that other models from other manufacturers include the same personally identifiable information in their tracking dots."
You can decode your own Xerox DocuColor prints using EFF's automated program at http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/index.php#program.
Xerox previously admitted that it provided these tracking dots to the government, but indicated that only the Secret Service had the ability to read the code. The Secret Service maintains that it only uses the information for criminal counterfeit investigations. However, there are no laws to prevent the government from abusing this information.
"Underground democracy movements that produce political or religious pamphlets and flyers, like the Russian samizdat of the 1980s, will always need the anonymity of simple paper documents, but this technology makes it easier for governments to find dissenters," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien. "Even worse, it shows how the government and private industry make backroom deals to weaken our privacy by compromising everyday equipment like printers. The logical next question is: what other deals have been or are being made to ensure that our technology rats on us?"
EFF is still working on cracking the codes from other printers and we need the public's help. Find out how you can make your own test pages to be included in our research at http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/wp.php#testsheets.
Bump
bump for thursday
no, part of the point is they can match things printed by the same printer w/o any other information... thus using to contents of various printed items to help identify a person.
Even the government can't be stupid enough to believe that counterfeiters are going to fill out the warranty card on their printers.
I would imagine this is an aid in proving guilt after the perpetrator is caught.
not entirely, reading the article it seems that part of the purpose is just to match things printed by the same printer. then looking at the contents of what was printed be able to better identify or assemble a profile.
The standard bleat of the typical government apologist. Get this---there are things government has NO BUSINESS whatsoever doing. This kind of spying is one of them (and no, don't try to justify it with "War on Terrror" bullbleep either).
i agree.
there are enough laws on the books to indict every single person in this country for something... all 'law enforcement' needs is the ability to poke and peek.
..or steal one, or buy one on the black market, or buy a used one, or use someone else's...
I understand the need for this technology, and I do know a case where counterfeiting was caught using it, but there are no privacy or other safeguards set up in this system. All we have is the Secret Service saying they want it for anti-counterfeiting. What's to keep President Hillary for telling them to find out who printed a phamphlet critical of her?
At a minimum I want laws stating:
I got news for yea. You did something illegal. Or at least you have sad something that some politician doesn’t like. You just don't know what it was.
Worried yet?
You should be.
This same technology can be used to track down the printer the made a sign that says something is simple as
"Eat at Joes"
If “Joe” is on the wrong side of the political fence so is the owner of the printer. Both could hang in the same dungeon.
Doubt me?
Take a ride through history. Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, Communist China… They all did it. Hell even our own British masters went on a rampage to destroy printers in the 18th century.
Worried yet?
You should be.
Consider this observation:
If you are one who happens to think that this printer dot coding is such a horrible thing, you'd for damned sure better quit posting around here. Every post is archived, time/date stamped and imminently searchable. Furthermore, the records that connect your screen name with your real I.D. are on file and can be subject to legal subpoena. Admittedly, it might take an extraordinary case for management to yield to the subpoena and give up your info, but if the government has such fearful ways and means, you can bet they have the leverage to make that happen if they really want to.
You have already left enough of a trail in cyberspace for you to be tracked, logged, pinned, pegged, scored, marked and totally owned.
This printer stuff is subatomic by comparison.
Tempest. Teapot. Deal with it.
AND, yes, I ALSO agree that "If you are not doing anything illegal, this should not bother you" is a very lame argument.
good reason for a manual typewriter, 1934 Royal works fine.........
Worldwide, it's been around for a long time. Oce color copiers had it in the late 90s. However, the code has only now been cracked. You see, they originally didn't want to tell us it was there, then they didn't want to tell us what information was on it. Now we know, at least for Xerox.
Mark my words. First it is this and then there will be other stuff.
You heard it here first.
bump
Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Q.E.D.
"Law enforcement agencies shall report to Congress quarterly with a list of warrants issued and for which cases, and the status of those cases. Where law allows, all information in the list shall be made public."
It seems they already did.
This is really meant for casual counterfeiters. There was a case in Germany where some guy ran a bunch of Deutsche Marks off his company's color copier. They got him.
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