This scene may be familiar to you. You need to quickly print a document before an appointment. Even though you bought a cartridge quite recently and it seems to be full, the machine refuses to print… YouTuber Jay Summet has found a radical solution to resolve this problem.
A complex, but effective method
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In a video, he shows how he managed to bypass the digital rights management (DRM) system of HP12 printers. The latter forces customers to buy official cartridges sold by HP. Here’s how he did it.
The videographer carried out a so-called “man-in-the-middle” attack. It uses a flexible printed circuit that it attaches to the original cartridge contacts before redirecting the signal to a chip. It will then modify the signal and trick the printer into believing that the print limit has not been reached. The machine will also be convinced to interact with an HP cartridge when this is not the case.
As we will have understood, this method is clearly not accessible to just anyone. It is nevertheless on the public square and budding DIY enthusiasts can take advantage of it. Obviously, HP should not appreciate these attempts. As our colleagues at ClubicAmerican society continues to justify its criticized methods by playing on the security argument.
The company’s CEO, Enrique Lores, says that the printer could be infected by malware that would enter the machine using unofficial cartridges before taking over the entire network.
A class action against HP
But beyond these laudable concerns on paper, this reason is very convenient for companies in the sector which thus keep their customers in their ecosystem and force them to checkout regularly.
As a reminder, HP was fined 10 million euros by the Italian competition authority. A relatively modest sum considering the results of this company. More recently, American consumers decided to launch a class action.
They hope to eliminate firmware updates that prevent unofficial cartridges from working on the company’s printers. A prospect that would undermine HP’s organization, which offers a subscription system where cartridges are sent automatically when necessary.
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