Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
A group of researchers at Columbia University has made a surprising discovery — apparently, some HP LaserJet printers are wide open to exploits from hackers.
The flaws discovered by these researchers are actually fairly serious — through the printer, a hacker could destroy a user’s personal information, steal personal details and even inflict physical harm. The hacker could also take control of the computer connected to the printer, and instruct it to perform specific tasks. In this experiment, the researchers also discovered that the hacker could cause the printer’s fuse to heat up, which may cause a printer to actually explode and start a fire.
HP has vehemently denied these claims, citing a failsafe mechanism in their LaserJet printers which prevents them from overheating.
