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Office machines 'could be spying on users'
20/02/2008 14:52
Manufacturers of office machines and printer cartridges may be breaking laws set out by the European Union (EU) by adding secret codes to documents that can reveal when they were printed and on which machine.
According to a report by PC Pro, a number of major office equipment manufacturers use the codes which could infringe on data protection laws.
So far, only Xerox has admitted to using the codes, which are hard for everyday users of office machines to spot. As yet, no company has officially announced which information is coded and, therefore, no rules have technically been broken.
Franco Frattini, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and security, told the European Parliament: "To the extent that individuals may be identified through material printed or copied using certain equipment, such processing may give rise to the violation of fundamental human rights, namely the right to privacy and private life."
Recent research from the Electronic Frontier Foundation suggested it had identified similar cryptic codes on dozens of office machines and printer models.
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