The CEO of H.P. has attempted to defend one of the most controversial features of its printers, the blocking of third-party cartridges, claiming that It is possible to embed viruses in the cartridges, which can then be passed to the computer over the network. This was confirmed in an interview with CNBC after his company faces a new lawsuit over its Dynamic Security technology.
The lawsuit, filed this January in the US District Court in Illinois, alleges that the company released a software update to its technology in late 2022 and early 2023, without warning that in this Some functions would be disabled if unofficial cartridges are used.
Precisely, HP’s Dynamic Security technology is capable of detecting if the cartridge embedded in the printer does not have an HP chip or an HP electronic circuit, in order to prevent the device from working and users having to buy an original one. It is a measure that, according to Enrique Lores, CEO of HP, aims to protect users from viruses.“We have seen that viruses can be embedded in cartridges. Through the cartridge, [el virus puede] go to the printer, [y luego] from the printer, go to the network…”, he detailed. But what is true in this?
Can printer cartridges contain viruses?
Lores cites HP-backed Bugcrowd research, in which they examined whether it was possible to—say—sneak a virus through an ink cartridge. The researchers found that the microcontroller chips in the ink cartridges, responsible for communicating with the printer, could be a gateway for attacks.
It is something that has contrasted Ars Technica through different security experts, who They were quite skeptical and they stated that a cartridge can hardly contain viruses, since the amount of information that must be stored is quite small.
In a report published in 2022 by Actionable Intelligence, details how there is a possibility that a printer can be hacked using a third-party ink cartridge. HP, however, detailed at that time that There is no evidence that anything like this ever happened.so, in reality, Enrique Lores’ justification is based on a theory, and not on something that can be carried out.
HP CEO defends himself about the use of official cartridges
In fact, Enrique Loures has also justified the limitation of third-party cartridges such as a measure to protect the intellectual property of the brand. “It is important to protect our IP. There is a lot of intellectual property that we build in the printer inks, in the printers themselves, etc., and what we are doing is that, when we identify cartridges that violate our intellectual property, we stop the operation of the printer,” he detailed to the CNBC.
Loures has also confirmed that the company’s objective is get users to opt into your subscription service: Instant Ink. “Our long-term goal is to make printing a subscription. “This is really what we’ve been pushing for.” The CEO of HP claims that they lose money when they sell printers, and that cartridges are where they see income.
On the other hand, the CEO of HP has stated that users are not investing in a brand printer when they buy it, but rather HP is investing in them. “Every time a customer buys a printer, for us it is an investment. We are investing [en] that customer, and if this customer doesn’t print enough or doesn’t use our supplies, it’s a bad investment,” he points out.