Slashdot Mirror
Canon Blocks Copy Jobs Using Banned Keywords
aesoteric notes that a future version of Canon's document management system will include the exciting breakthrough technology that will OCR your printed and scanned documents, and
prevent distribution of keywords. Documents containing the offending words can be sent to the administrator, without actually telling the user just what word tripped the alarm. The article notes that simply using 1337 for example will get around it.
How long until making photocopies of your butt becomes a thing of the past?
I wonder if this sort of censorship will find its way into public libraries. You know, they'll claim there is a national security interest in prevent certain kinds of pamphlets from being printed, or something to that effect, and before you know it a routine trip to the library will turn into an interrogation in a back room somewhere.
Palm trees and 8
Canon sucks
All a publisher would have to do is to embed a code or passphrase or optical pattern on the pages of their copyrighted publication and then arrange with manufacturers such as Canon or Xerox not to duplicate those pages. The pattern could be a watermark in the background of the content, defeating attempts to obscure it with a post-it not or some such.
I predict a huge demand for older, dumber photocopiers.
I can see the fnords!
You're doing it wrong. If there's anything I've learned in dealing with people, it is never try to create a technical solution to a social problem. If someone wants to make a copy of some secret document, they will quickly learn that the copiers have this software installed and will use a different machine. You need to figure out why they would want to make copies of something you don't want them to, and solve that problem. I could see this being marginally useful for preventing accidental release of information, however the article seems to state that they are trying to stop deliberate users.
A determined user who has guessed the prohibited keyword could get around it by simply substituting numbers or other characters for letters, such as z00 instead of zoo, representatives for Canon conceded.
Sewage Treatment Facilities - "Our duty is clear."
Hey, look on the bright side, if you manage to get access to the admin side of the copier (or perhaps if you've found that they never set it up, but your copier has this functionality), you can have loads of fun. Imagine if the copier wouldn't copy anything with the letter a in it, and if someone tried to, it would email your manager (or their boss). All the fun of shutting down the copier and spamming someone at the same time!
"The system can optionally inform the user by email that their attempt has been blocked, but without identifying the keyword in question, maintaining the security of the system."
Until the user decides to compare his blocked page with blocked pages from other letters or does a binary search for the forbidden word. Glad they thought this through.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
From TFA: "The latest version of Uniflow has a keyword-based security system. Once configured by an administrator, the system can prevent a user from attempting to print, scan, copy or fax a document containing a prohibited keyword, such as a client name or project codename."
So its not some Canon thing where they think some words shouldnt be used. You know, dirty words like Bottom or Crevice.
The internal admin can set the words. Its like a silent alarm really. No different to a corporate spam filter with words added to a blacklist by an admin.
In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
If you want to block copying of some documents, you can simply watermark them with the anti counterfeiting constellation. Use something that will print the constellation and print up a ream of paper. Use the anti copy paper for the documents you don't want copied.
Print this in yellow ink in the background.
http://globalpapersecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/150px-EURion.svg_.png/
The truth shall set you free!
Just use CAPTCHAs for any banned words, phrases, or other banned content.
make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
Verbing weirds language.
Maybe because the photocopier is not enforcing "CONFIDENTIAL DO NOT COPY" -- it goes way beyond that, checking a blacklist of words? It is not that this technology itself is evil, it is more that it can be used for all sorts of evil things.
You seem to think that these machines will only be purchased by corporations. What gives you that idea? How do you know that public libraries won't have these machines installed? What about schools? The problem is that this technology can and most likely will be abused. Public libraries and schools already filter websites; this will take that sort of censorship to an entirely new level.
Palm trees and 8
This has nothing to do with foul language and everything to do with people walking out the door with account numbers, medical records, credit card info, social security numbers and other valuable private information.
This is not a privacy issue; there is little expectation of privacy in a workplace when using company property anyway. I personally feel this would be a nice help; imagine working for a government contractor and having having software automatically raise flags when someone copies documents with "DO NOT COPY" or "CONFIDENTIAL" in the OCR text. This is somewhat useful.
Then copy your own damn papers, its not like copiers are futuristic alien technology that only high end corporations have access to.
I mean damn, I know slashdot is paranoid, but this is ridiculous; this is for corporate enforcement, nothing more.
I renewed my card at Enoch Pratt a few years back, and the librarian looked over my record, said, "Oh, they were collecting SSN's back then--let me just delete THAT from the record..." Not your typical bureaucrats, there, not at all. They're not in it for the money or the power.
This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander
Canon Inc. has nothing to do with cannon. Also, Canon is a word in it's own right.
They're not in it for the money or the power.
Oh I beg to differ, knowledge is power you know, and they just love to accumulate knowledge. Damn power hungry librarians.
FBI monitoring library records in terror probe (By The Associated Press)
But, of course, it hasn't been used, they say.Authority to obtain library records hasn't been used, Ashcroft says (By The Associated Press)
Yeah they are in it for the sex! Duh.
will be some of the first 'banned words', I bet. Only in Chinese, not English.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Much much better link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation
char*f="char*f=%c%s%c;main(){printf(f,34,f,34);}";main(){printf(f,34,f,34);}
I always wanted to be a locksmith but I don't know howto break into that industry.
This has nothing to do with foul language and everything to do with people walking out the door with account numbers, medical records, credit card info, social security numbers and other valuable private information.
Yes, this is true.
Although I don't know why this is "Breaking News" considering it has been offered on Xerox products for over 3 years.
And I should know, we sell this stuff to government departments purely based on the security we can offer them.
It might be easy to hand write the details off the screen for circumvention, but that is only going to net you a small data set. These systems are designend to stop people walking off with entire client databases and that type of thing. In the governemnt, it's more about keyword 'flagging' that sends the MIB to your desk on very short notice.
Dan. -- So what if it's spelt wrong, nobody's perfect
Care to elaborate where you think this happens. Most Librarians (grade school excluded) I know adamantly preserve privacy and enable access to information and despise and fight vigorously against anything that tries to infringe on those ideals. On the other hand if a Library (particularly Universities) does not control it's own computers (i.e. separate IT dept. that doesn't answer to Library heads) then your privacy is probably not protected in the same way with regards to internet access.
Beware of those who profit off the docile and persecute the unbelievers.
...this is for corporate enforcement, nothing more.
I share the same wishful thinking but...
Considering that many copiers also function as printers, it seems very possible that the keyword technology will end up in a networked printer. If that happens, a hack or backdoor feature to report access of documents with certain markings or keywords to a remote location certainly seems possible. Slowly send data by carefully crafted time server accesses or something and who would know? Couldn't info be passed along under the guise of periodic or startup firmware update checks? If one doesn't see the source of fax/print drivers, couldn't they also be crafted to pass along information?
To have OCR, one of these copiers is obviously a scanner integrated with a printer and some brains. Compared to what would already be included, it probably wouldn't take much more code to add spooky features. (Don't some printers/drivers already add subtle changes to imbed info in output that can indicate where it came from?)
Even consumer copiers not marketed as having the banned-keywords features could end up being sold with the same potential capabilities. It's not an unheard of concept. For example some DSL modems originally designed with firewalls shipped with modified firmware for certain ISPs that took away access to and visible signs of the firewalls in their web setup pages.
I remember when I was in school and I wanted to run some RPGs but didn't have any of the books anymore.. I couldn't stand having PDFs so I figured I would start printing out the books, 3 hole punch them and put them in 3 ring binders. So I started with the core books and moved on to the supplements. I don't know how many pages I printed. Several thousand easy. The first page it printed was a cover page. The school started catching on to how much was being printed so they limited each print job to something like 20 pages.
I know my example is about printing and not copying, but I could see where it would help to deal with similar abuses.
Give the printer a list of words connected with sexual activities, and make it CC any printout containing them to company-wide announce list.
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
So you've failed miserably at attracting mates by letting down your hair and taking off your glasses?
FRA: STFU GTFO
We do explain to parents applying for internet passes for their children that we don't filter, and a few parents decide to withhold permission from the kids or decide to only allow them access when the parent is there to watch over them.