A large number of users of 3D printers from Chinese manufacturer Anycubic are currently reporting a possible hacker attack. A text file with the name “hacked_machine_readme” has been stored in the devices, which refers to an alleged security vulnerability in the Anycubic infrastructure.
According to the message, attackers can apparently use the MQTT protocol to connect to printers and control them. MQTT is a common standard for machine-to-machine communication between internet-enabled devices and backend servers.
The unknown author of the file claims to have distributed the message to around 2.9 million Anycubic printers – a figure that roughly matches the manufacturer’s cumulative sales figures. In the message, he urges users with devices connected to the Internet to disconnect in order to prevent worse. So far, it appears to be a kind of demonstration of the security vulnerability.
Anycubic merely states that it is investigating the incident very closely and will publish an official statement shortly.
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