For many people, fax machines are a mere relic of the early days of electronic communications, but with 300 million fax numbers still in use, many people still have fax machines, often in the form of an all-in-one printer rather than a stand alone fax machine and therein is the source of the threat to the cybersecurity of individuals and companies. All-in-one printers are generally connected to home or office computer networks through Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth or other interfaces. The fax functions in these machines becomes an easy target for hackers seeking to deliver malware that can gain access to your computer’s data or to install various forms of malware. The good news, however is that some makers of these all-in-one printers, such as Hewlett Packard which was the company that made the all-in-one printer with fax capabilities that was found to be vulnerable by researchers at Check Point, a cybersecurity firm, have created security updates to prevent the faxes from being exploited by hackers. The bad news is that other makers of all-in-one printers may still be vulnerable.
TIPS
Anything that is connected to your home or office computer network poses a threat to all of your data. This threat has been magnified by the many devices, including toys that now make up the vast and continuing to grow Internet of Things. Many of the devices that make up the Internet of Things come with preset passwords that can easily be discovered by hackers.  Change your password as soon as you set up the product.  Also, set up a guest network on your router exclusively for your Internet of Things devices.  Configure network firewalls to block traffic from unauthorized IP addresses and disable port forwarding.  Make sure that you install the latest security patches as soon as they become available.  Use encryption software for the transmission of data and find out where data is stored and what steps are taken to secure the information.  Also, limit the amount of information you provide when setting up the accounts for toys and other Internet of Things devices.  The less information out there, the less the risk of identity theft.  Finally make sure your router is secure and use its whitelisting capabilities which will prevent your device from connecting to malicious networks. Whitelisting prevents the installation of software programs that have not already been approved. As for the specific security risks of faxes, if you have an all-in-one printer with fax capabilities at home or in your place of work, you should check with its manufacturer to make sure that you have installed necessary security software.
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