14 DAY TRIAL // David Goldblatt filed a class action lawsuit against HP after learning about the dangers that could lurk behind the use of LaserJet printers.
Many might be thinking that HP couldn’t have known about the weaknesses, but as it turns out, a 2010 report commissioned by HP revealed that high-level security risks do exist in printers, but there were no specific details or models provided.
Now, the lawsuit seeks penalties to be paid out to HP LaserJet customers who were exposed for all this time without any warning from the manufacturer, reports Wired.
After the scandal broke out in the media, HP made a list of all the devices that could be affected by a malicious remote firmware update and as it turns out, all the devices built before 2009 are susceptible to an attack similar to the one demonstrated by the researchers.
“A potential security vulnerability has been identified with certain HP printers and HP digital senders. The vulnerability could be exploited remotely to install unauthorized printer firmware,” reads a security bulletin.
HP Color LaserJet 3000, HP LaserJet Enterprise P3015, HP LaserJet M9040 are just a few examples of the tens of models that could be affected.
When the researchers from the Columbia University Intrusion Detection Systems Lab published their findings, HP representatives stated that the company was looking into the issue. They also mentioned that they planned on collaborating with the customers that might be affected by the security weaknesses.
It seems as that wasn’t good enough for some of their customers, since now, Goldblatt claims that he would have never purchased the device if he had known that it could be remotely hacked and programmed to steal data and even to set itself on fire.
HP refused to comment on the lawsuit, but we’ll probably learn more once the actual court action starts.