In these high-tech times, scanners and photocopiers aren’t just dumb machines sitting in the corner of the office.
They are usually connected to the corporate network, and – in some cases – can even email you at your desk to save you having to wear out your shoe leather.
And it’s precisely this functionality that we have seen cybercriminals exploiting today, pretending that their malicious emails in fact come from an HP scanner inside your organisation.
Here’s a typical example of the emails we have been intercepting at SophosLabs:
Subject: Re: Scan from a Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 4952740
Message body:
Attached document was scanned and sent to you using a Hewlett-Packard I-56919SL.SENT BY: SHERRIL
PAGES: 7
FILETYPE: .DOC [Word2003 File]
As you’ll see in the next example, the precise wording (the names and numbers used) can vary from email to email. But each of the…
Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.
Found this article interesting? Follow Graham Cluley on Twitter or Mastodon to read more of the exclusive content we post.