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Canon warns users to wipe their Wi-Fi settings

by on03 August 2023


Resets will not do that

Printer manufacturer Canon is warning that sensitive Wi-Fi settings don't automatically get wiped during resets, so customers should manually delete them before selling, discarding, or getting them repaired.

In an advisory, Canon warned that sensitive information on the Wi-Fi connection settings stored in the memories of inkjet printers (home and office/large format) may not be deleted by the usual initialisation process,

They added manual wiping should occur "when your printer may be in the hand of any third party, such as when repairing, lending or disposing of the printer."

Canon printers which connect to networks over Wi-F require users to provide the SSID name, the password preventing unauthorised access to the network. Sometimes additional information such as Wi-Fi network type, the local network IP address, the MAC address, and network profile are also required.

Some users logically assume that performing a simple factory reset that returns all settings to their defaults would be enough to remove these settings, but it seems Canon has noticed that this does not always happen.

This means that a printer could tell a hacker all your network secrets.

Last modified on 03 August 2023
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