Researchers at Columbia University have demonstrated that a remote firmware update command in some HP LaserJet printers can be hijacked, according to a report from MSNBC. In one case, a hacked printer was reportedly given commands that might cause it to get hot enough to scorch paper loaded in it. The researchers rewrote a test printer's firmware and said that this would be impossible to detect without removing and examining the device's embedded chips. Soon after, HP released a statement describing the reporting as "sensational and inaccurate."
Attribution: CNET, ECTNews and TechCrunch.