What Photo Copy Machines May be Telling Other People About You

Who needs to buy a photocopier when there’s a copier available at the local library. copy shop, or at the office? If that’s what you think, you may reconsider that after reading what I found out about them.  

Large photocopiers that have been produced within the last five years use hard drives to store data. That data is stored on the hard drive of the copier until the drive reaches its storage capacity. Once the drive is full, new data will overwrite the old data on the drive. But, can anyone access the data on that drive? Yes, unless security measures are being used.

What information could be accessed by others using commercial copiers? 

“Consumers and business owners will photocopy highly confidential tax forms containing Social Security numbers, Employer Identification Numbers and other sensitive information in places outside the home, leaving them vulnerable to digital theft,” - Ed McLaughlin, president of Sharp Document Solutions of America

Sharp was one of the first photocopier makers to offer a security kit that encrypts data on the hard drive and “shreds” each copied document by overwriting the image after it’s printed. Rival Xerox Corp. introduced similar features on its machines last year.

What locations are more likely to expose your data? 

“I’ve not heard of any cases of ID theft from photocopiers,” said Litan. “But there is certainly ID theft in public places like Internet cafes and from kiosks, so I don’t see why it couldn’t happen at someplace like a Kinko’s.” “We’ve told enterprises that they should change the password from the default on copiers and [multi-function printers],” said Litan. “They should disable all services that they don’t need, and make sure that the data modem is separate from the fax modem.” - Avivah Litan,  Gartner analyst. 

Play it Safe: Home photo copiers do not have hard drives, so if you want to insure that your data is safe, copy your confidential documents like your resume and tax returns at home! If you are going to use public copiers, articles on the subject say you should ask them if they have security measures in place. I’d be hesitant about doing that though. They may tell you “yes”,  thinking that they bought a “top of the line” copier that has EVERY thing you’d ever want in a copier - just like the salesman told them. Be cautious with your data.

Read more about the photocopy security flaw on Computerworld and MSNBC