Sleuths Crack Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers

[Sinistrous]

By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 19, 2005; Page D01

It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it isn't. The pages coming out of your color printer may contain hidden information that could be used to track you down if you ever cross the U.S. government.

Last year, an article in PC World magazine pointed out that printouts from many color laser printers contained yellow dots scattered across the page, viewable only with a special kind of flashlight. The article quoted a senior researcher at Xerox Corp. as saying the dots contain information useful to law-enforcement authorities, a secret digital "license tag" for tracking down criminals.

The content of the coded information was supposed to be a secret, available only to agencies looking for counterfeiters who use color printers.

Now, the secret is out.

(more)

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801663.html

Other related links:

http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=13231&cid=3&cname=Technology

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/list.php

[acmavm]

1. THIS government would never hesitate to use this technology for

purposes far above and beyond investigating counterfieting. In fact, they probably have.

[acmejack]

2. In fairness, any government would never hesitate

If know it is available for exploitation, they would be foolish to ignore it.

[mcscajun]

5. Forget fairness...The Government had it Put There.

from the same article:

Xerox spokesman Bill McKee confirmed the existence of the hidden codes, but he said the company was simply assisting an agency that asked for help. McKee said the program was part of a cooperation with government agencies, competing manufacturers and a "consortium of banks," but would not provide further details. HP said in a statement that it is involved in anti-counterfeiting measures and supports the cooperation between the printer industry and those who are working to reduce counterfeiting.

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. The government put it there, yes. Under a DEMOCRAT as President

From the article:

It's unclear whether the yellow-dot codes have ever been used to make an arrest. And no one would say how long the codes have been in use. But Seth Schoen, the EFF technologist who led the organization's research, said he had seen the coding on documents produced by printers that were at least 10 years old.

If you are going to blame "the government", this one falls at the doorstep of the president who brought you the "Defense" of Marriage Act, the World Trade Organization and "free speech zones." You can't pin this on Shrub.

[mcscajun]

7. I wasn't pinning it on Shrub.

:)

[zbdent]

3. Here's a tip

Go look in a second-hand store.

There's a bunch of unwanted color printers handy. Cheap.

When you print out your "anti-Bush"/"question the Repukes" materials, get one for $10-$20, print out your stuff in a huge quantity, and then trash it a week before you put the stuff up.

There's plenty of color printers in the local second-hand store. Especially when you consider that most new computers are sold with a "free printer".

[Boo_Radley]

4. Man, that's creepy

I wonder what other embedded information is out there that we don't know about. Clothing fibres, tire tracks, photographic lenses, film, paper fibre and all manner of other things could have similar tracking devices embedded without our knowledge.

This reminds me to make a donation to EFF.

[arwalden]

8. Mimeograph Machine Anyone?

[ManiacJoe]

9. It is cool that someone outside the manufacturers

cracked the code, but the fact that the high-end printers have been marking the prints is very old news. Lots of documentaries from the History Channel and/or Discovery Channel about this stuff, normally but not always regarding counterfeiting.

[Moderator]

10. kick