Anti-Employment Manifesto Spam Floods Payment Receipt Printers, Calls For Strikes

The payment receipt printer has been hacked by hackers to exclaim the anti-work manifesto. (photo credit: vice.com)

JAKARTA – The business environment in the US and several other countries is being attacked by spam with 'anti-work' manifestos sent through payment receipt printers by hackers encouraging workers to unionize, denying 'poverty wages' and demanding more pay.

Workers on Twitter and Reddit have posted several images showing rebellious messages sent by hackers through their workplace receipt printers.

'ARE YOU LOW PAID? You have a protected LEGAL RIGHT to discuss your salary with your co-workers. Wages Poverty exists only because people are 'willing to work for them', reads one message on the printed receipt.

As reported by Dailymail, these receipts direct workers to the r/antiwork subreddit, an online forum where users participate, comment and share 'anti-work' and anti-capitalist sentiments and call for a strike for better working conditions.

The subreddit has since gained momentum, with users sharing their own theories about the message printed on receipts.

Apparently, someone from r/antiwork is bombarding the internet with RAW TCP/IP printing requests. I'm going to tag this just for kicks. pic.twitter.com/P0NC2dO6hx

— Konstantin (@4b4c41) November 30, 2021

While many would venture to claim that the images were posted by people with direct access to the printer and not by hackers, a cybersecurity analyst told VICE that network traffic going to an insecure receipt printer indicates that one or more more hackers are indeed behind the attack.

According to its description on the platform, the r/antiwork subreddit is the place for those 'who want to end a job, are curious about how to end a job, want to get the most out of a work-free life...and want personal help with their own work or work-related struggles. '

“Which one of you did this because it was funny,” wrote a Reddit user who claimed a message had been printed at his job, writing on Reddit on Tuesday, November 30. "My co-workers and I need answers."

One of the messages reportedly printed on the receipt reads: 'RIDDLE ME THIS. How can McDonald's in Denmark pay their staff $22 an hour and still sell Big Macs for less than in America? Answer: UNION! Did you know that organizing a UNION is a fairly simple task?'

Another receipt, posted on Reddit, advises workers to ask for the minimum wage of $25 'or walk.'

'TIME IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET You just can't get it anymore. You don't even know how much to start with. Why would you sell your time for a VERY SMALL salary? Join the ''$25 OR WALK'' movement!' in a printed receipt.

Imagine you are working your shit retail job when this comes out of your register. R/antiwork pic.twitter.com/N6SAJ9ogq5

— MⒶGEbit (@Mage_Bit) November 25, 2021

The r/antiwork subreddit has gained influence, with thousands of new users participating in the forums every day.

While some believe it was a coordinated strategy by workers with access to printers that have overtaken his access to fame on the internet. Meanwhile, others say that 'hackers' are behind the subversive message.

Andrew Morris, founder of cybersecurity firm Greynoise, told VICE that his company was actually monitoring traffic going to unsecured receipt printers. Morris said the messages appeared to be sent indiscriminately.

“Someone used the same technique as a 'mass scan' to massively blast raw TCP data straight into a printer service on the internet," he said. "Basically for any device that has TCP port 9100 open and prints a pre-written document that references /r/antiwork with some workers' rights/counter-capitalist message."

Morris said that the person or persons behind the attack sent messages from 25 different servers, making it difficult for businesses to block just one IP address. "More than a thousand printers were exposed," he added.

Beachcamp, a Reddit user, also added that the receipt and label printers commonly used in businesses are connected to the internet and often have poor security, which makes them easy targets for hackers.

“Meaning that with a little knowledge, motivated people can send that print job to them [the printer] saying whatever they want,” they wrote.

Another user mentioned that people on the subreddit have been 'joking' about using the print system for months, so the incident shouldn't come as a surprise.

In 2020, cybersecurity experts at CyberNews hijacked nearly 28,000 insecure printers worldwide to highlight how easy it is to hack, and how important antivirus, antimalware, and VPNs are in securing devices from potential attacks.

Reported by Dailymail, of the 50,000 devices they wanted to hack, 27,944 were successfully accessed.

“Considering this percentage, we can assume that of the 800,000 internet-connected printers worldwide, at least 447,000 are unsafe,” concludes CyberNews.

While some find the size used by the 'antiwork' hackers disturbing, others on Reddit, also agree that the message conveyed justifies the way.

“I have received about 4 different messages randomly over the past week at work. So inspiring, encouraging and fun to see my [boss] face when he had to rip it off the printer,” wrote one user.