Canon Printer Hacked To Run Doom Video Game

wiredog writes Security researcher Michael Jordon has hacked a Canon's Pixma printer to run Doom. He did so by reverse engineering the firmware encryption and uploading via the update interface. From the BBC: "Like many modern printers, Canon's Pixma range can be accessed via the net, so owners can check the device's status. However, Mr Jordon, who works for Context Information Security, found Canon had done a poor job of securing this method of interrogating the device. 'The web interface has no user name or password on it,' he said. That meant anyone could look at the status of any device once they found it, he said. A check via the Shodan search engine suggests there are thousands of potentially vulnerable Pixma printers already discoverable online. There is no evidence that anyone is attacking printers via the route Mr Jordon found."

Comments

So it runs Doom ?

[MondoGordo]

How much paper does that use ?

Re:So it runs Doom ?

[cp5i6]

You're missing the point.

It's connected to the net. check. It's got enough cpu power to run a proper app. check. It's got no security. check. It's got enough storage for a decently sized program. check.

You know what the next logical step is?

installing DDoS zombies on these printers.

Re:So it runs Doom ?

[OhSoLaMeow]

You know what the next logical step is?

Beowulf clusters of Canon printers?

Re:So it runs Doom ?

[gstoddart]

You know what the next logical step is?

It involves the internet ... so I'll assume some form of pornography.

Re:So it runs Doom ?

[lucm]

The guy will upload 3D printer firmware, and demons from Doom will come out of the printer.

RUN

Re:So it runs Doom ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ooh. Printer porn.

Ms. Canon: I love the way you jam the paper inside me.
Mr. Epson: Ooh, baby, my fuser's so hot for you.
Ms. Canon: Yeah. That's the way. Fill me full of black ink.

Eww.

It's on the network...

[damn_registrars]

... can you run multiplayer doom if you have several of these printers? Maybe make the printer print out red when you're hit?

Sigh.

[ledow]

I really shouldn't be getting my tech news from sites that are basically a day behind BBC News.

Cannon Releasing a Fix

[FrankieBaby1986]

From the article:

"The colour palette is still not quite right," he said. "But it proves the point and it runs quite quickly, though it's not optimised."

Mr Jordon has no plans to fine tune the demonstration and do that optimisation or take on more work to get the game beyond its loading screen, given how much trouble it took to get it working at all.

"I'm so sick of it," he said. "I'm done."

On a blog entry about Mr Jordon's work, Canon said it intended "to provide a fix as quickly as is feasible".

This will involve adding a user name and password field to the web interface for future Pixma printers and issuing an update for existing owners to add the same feature.

It looks like Cannon is planning to release a fix to correct the color palette and get the game optimized! Even better they are going to add accounts to the game for scores and going to release this for all previous purchasers of the printer! Sweet!

:p