A recent federal case against a worker at a government contractor for allegedly leaking classified information to the Washington Post has brought attention to the extensive surveillance capabilities of modern workplace printers, which can archive full copies of every document they process. According to an FBI document, the leaker was caught by his employer thanks to an office printer.
The Intercept reports that federal prosecutors charged Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, an IT specialist working for an unnamed government contractor, with unlawful retention of national defense information on January 9, according to an FBI affidavit. While the case initially gained media attention due to federal agents searching the home of a Washington Post journalist, a less publicized aspect of the investigation has revealed how office printers can serve as comprehensive surveillance tools that retain complete copies of printed materials.
The investigation became publicly known after the Washington Post reported that investigators had seized equipment belonging to journalist Hannah Natanson, including her work laptop, personal laptop, phone, and smartwatch. As Breitbart News previously reported:
Bondi wrote, “This past week, at the request of the Department of War, the Department of Justice and FBI executed a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars. I am proud to work alongside Secretary Hegseth on this effort. The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”
The FBI affidavit offers detailed information about how Perez-Lugones allegedly tried to remove information from a Secure Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), and the unexpected method by which his employer detected the activity.
According to federal investigators, Perez-Lugones printed a classified intelligence report using what appeared to be a deliberate attempt at concealment. Standard workplace printers typically log basic information such as file names and user identities. In an apparent effort to avoid leaving obvious traces, Perez-Lugones allegedly took screenshots of classified materials, cropped those screenshots, and inserted them into a Microsoft Word document, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states that Perez-Lugones gave the document a generic title, “Microsoft Word – Document1,” which might not attract attention during routine audits of printer logs.
However, the investigation revealed that Perez-Lugones’s employer possessed capabilities beyond tracking standard printer metadata such as file names, sizes, and printing times. According to the affidavit, the employer could actually view the complete contents of printed materials, including the screenshots themselves. The affidavit explicitly notes that “Perez-Lugones’ employer can retrieve records of print activity on classified systems, including copies of printed documents.”
When users send documents to print on networks equipped with this type of printer monitoring software, the program silently creates a duplicate copy of the file and generates images of every printed page. This process occurs without user notification, meaning employees may have no awareness that complete copies of their printed files are being stored. Workplace administrators can configure retention periods for these document copies and allocate storage space limits.
Beyond the alleged printing incident, investigators claim Perez-Lugones was observed opening a classified document and taking handwritten notes, appearing to look “back and forth between the screen corresponding the classified system and the notepad, all the while writing on the notepad.” While the affidavit does not explicitly describe how this observation was made, the level of detail strongly implies that video surveillance systems were monitoring the workspace.
Read more at the Intercept here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
Read the full article here