Researchers expose printer vulnerability, turn InkJets into literal time bombs

Printers Vulnerable
Your precious printer might seem innocuous but, in reality, it could be a ticking time bomb just waiting for some hacker to trigger it. Oh, and we mean that not just figuratively, but literally as well -- they could actually be cause to burst into flames by some ne'er-do-well half-way around the globe. Of course, the potential doesn't end and remote arson, an attacker could easily gain access to a network or steal documents, and hijacking the lowly device would require little more than printing an infected file. So far researchers at Columbia University have only managed to exploit the hole on HP printers, but it's possible (if not likely) that others are also affected. Most printers look for a firmware update every time it receives a job but, for some reason, they rarely check the validity of an incoming file. A fake upgrade could easily be attached to a file sent over the internet, directly to a device -- no need to even trick another person. HP says it's taking the issue very seriously and looking into the vulnerability, for a lot more detail on the what and how, though, check out the source link.

Researchers expose printer vulnerability, turn InkJets into literal time bombs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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