Major Security Hole in Over 150 Types of HP Printers

More than 150 different HP printers have a significant security hole. This allows malicious parties to penetrate the device.

They can read data from the printer itself, but they can also access the user’s network through the printer. It is not known whether this hole has already been exploited.

The security hole is in printers that are in people’s homes and printers that are used in companies. The latter group concerns multifunctional printers, with which people can also scan, copy and fax.

The memory of such a device can contain, for example, copies of passports or sensitive information from a company. Such information can be very interesting for cybercriminals. For example, if a hacker penetrates a computer network via the printer, this can be used to place ransomware.

Cybersecurity F-Secure discovered the hole and alerted HP. As a result, that company will release a patch on Tuesday, an update to close the gap.

However, according to F-Secure, a lot of knowledge is needed to be able to use the vulnerability; not every hacker has those skills, but experienced criminals or cyberspies can use the hole for targeted attacks.