HP CEO Enrique Lores, in an imaginative interview, warned his customers that third-party inks could hack their network.
In an interview with the American CNBC, HP CEO Enrique Lores referred to the company's controversial practice of not accepting third-party inks for its printers.
No more or less, he claimed that there are virus ink cartridges on the market! In fact, he mentioned that through her cassettes, the virus can go to the printer, and then from the printer to the local network.
And apologizing for HP's reasoning for locking down its printers and disallowing third-party inks, it said it does so to protect you. Yes, dumbass. For you it does.
Blocked printers
The company has developed the Dynamic system in its printers Security, which prevents HP printers from working if an ink cartridge without an HP chip or HP electronic circuit is installed. The HP has released firmware updates which prevent printing with such ink cartridges, naturally causing multiple lawsuits from its customers.
At base the lawsuits allege that customers were not informed that the updates printer firmware, released in late 2022 and in early 2023, could result in printer functions not working due to inks.
The suit seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief preventing HP from issuing printer updates that block ink cartridges without the HP chip.
Is HP right?
How right is HP and should we be worried about a hacked ink?
According to cybersecurity analysts, HP's claim is highly improbable, even in a laboratory environment. How much more so in a vast market that would affect unrelated buyers and not selected targets.
Lores' claim comes from a Bugcrowd investigation commissioned by HP itself. So it was paid for by her.
HP admitted that there is no evidence that this kind of hack has already happened in the market. He insists, however, that because the chips used in third-party ink cartridges are reprogrammable, they are less secure.
On the other hand, if one looks at it realistically, a very high level of resources and skill is required for such a hack, which is usually intended to target high-profile victims rather than the vast majority of individual consumers and businesses.
Even if it's theoretically possible for hackers to exploit ink cartridges, it's considered unlikely to bother, as there are many easier ways for a diligent hacker to get into a printer's network, including exploiting unpatched software vulnerabilities.
Additionally, as HP firmware updates are associated with printers suddenly not working with foreign inks, there are reports of users avoiding printer updates and encouraging others to do the same, which could result in users rejecting important security updates.
HP wants subscription printing
It is clear that HP's tactics are intended to convince HP printer owners to commit to HP ink, which helps the company increase recurring revenue and make up for the money lost when printers are sold.
Lores confirmed in the interview that HP loses money when it sells a printer and makes money through inks.
But HP's ambitions don't stop there. He envisions a world where all of his printer customers also enroll in an HP program that offers ink and other printer-related services.
Who invests in whom?
HP has faced numerous lawsuits over its ban on the use of third-party inks and has paid millions in damages. So why is he still on this path?
This can be partly explained by the company's perspective on the vendor-customer relationship. When people buy an HP printer, they think of it as an investment. But HP believes that when you buy a printer, the company is investing in you.
Watch the interview below:
Enrique Lores says it very correctly.
On this occasion, however, I should complete my own research and study ( * ) according to which, any child who is jaundiced at birth has a huge chance of acquiring super powers when he grows up and being accepted into X's school -MEN Xavier.
* my study was funded by DC and Marvel comics.