
HP printers can be remotely controlled and set on fire, researchers claim - jnazario
http://arstechnica.com/business/2011/11/hp-printers-can-be-remotely-controlled-and-set-on-fire-researchers-claim/
======
quarterto
Perhaps they should reinstate the "lp0 on fire" error message.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lp0_on_fire>

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Bob_Sheep
This article is from 2011, here is the talk from 28c3:
[http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2011/28c3-4780-en-
print_...](http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2011/28c3-4780-en-
print_me_if_you_dare_h264.html)

Also on the subject of printers this talk from 28c3 is quite interesting:
[http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2011/28c3-4871-en-
hackin...](http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2011/28c3-4871-en-
hacking_mfps_h264.html)

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sanat
The disclosures before this talk gave rise to this article
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njVv7J2azY8>

The talk clearly mentions that if you can put malware into a printer wouldn't
you use it to pawn a network instead of just setting it on fire - also it
isn't possible to set it on fire - they just made that up.

~~~
PeterisP
Well, if someone wants to use it for criminal activities, then arson may be
much more profitable than a pawned network; it would be undetectable since any
evidence of hacking would be destroyed in the fire, so it might be used in
both harming competitors and also for insurance fraud.

------
fnordfnordfnord
Time to fork hpsetdisp.pl for some real fun. Besides, I have a printer at work
that needs replacing.

<http://kovaya.com/perl/show.cgi?program=hpsetdisp.pl>

From the article:

>>"HP LaserJet printers have a hardware element called a 'thermal breaker'
that is designed to prevent the fuser from overheating or causing a fire. It
cannot be overcome by a firmware change or this proposed vulnerability."

I wouldn't be so sure about that last part, but I do doubt that the things can
be made to cause adjacent objects to catch fire (unless maybe someone stores
their gasoline in open containers near the printer).

~~~
ams6110
A thermal breaker is a purely mechanical device, it opens the electrical
circuit if temperature rises beyond its designed limit. It is not controlled
by software. It is designed to be a failsafe against another hardware or
software problem which is causing an overheating condition. I think HPs claim
on at least that issue is credible.

~~~
fnordfnordfnord
Yes, I know what a thermal breaker is, and that the switch itself cannot be
affected by firmware, so he is correct in that statement, but that is so
obvious that doesn't really need mentioning. What I mean is that the
protection that is intended by the thermal switch might be cleverly defeated.
The thermal switch is usually mounted on the (metal frame) chassis, not always
close to the parts that would catch fire. What I am suggesting is that one
might find a way to cause a paper jam, and then get the paper to ignite before
the chassis were heated enough to cause the thermal switch to open. It might
even be dependent upon a specific model(s). I doubt it is possible to prevent
without very careful placement of thermal switch(es). The kind of placement
that would defy efficient manufacturing ideals, and possibly even user-safety-
inspired design practices. TBH, I don't think it is likely to be a reliable
ignition method. Besides, Randall Hyde has shown us the most satisfying way to
get rid of printers (buckshot).

~~~
monochromatic
If I were HP, I think I'd put it right by the fuser.

(Although I would also do a lot of other things differently, so that may not
be a strong point.)

------
qompiler
You can also find HP printers through Google. They run a webserver publicly
accessible form anywhere by default!

Search for on Google for the following (without quotes)

"inurl:hp/device/this.LCDispatcher?nav=hp.Print"

~~~
jlgaddis
The Shodan search engine is a great resource as well:

<http://www.shodanhq.com/search?q=hp+laserjet>

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speeder
Aaaah Turing complete printers, always lovely! I cannot find the link, but
there was the story of a hacker that sent raytracing programs made in
postscript to printers, just to see them struggle to print, and then print
some pretty but useless picture.

~~~
Alphasite_
Heres a couple: <http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/people/foster/postscript.html>
<http://tog.acm.org/resources/RTNews/html/rtnv6n2.html>

------
jsherry
I have a networked HP printer (or perhaps I shouldn't admit that). Does
anybody have a dummies guide on how to protect myself while maintaining
connection to the internet? Thanks!

~~~
monochromatic
Firewall.

~~~
jere
Exactly. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(construction)>

------
rickdale
When I was 14(in 2000) I took intro to computer science. The first program I
built outside of class was a program that took over the users printer and
printed out all sorts of stuff as well as shot out error codes etc. I just
thought it was amazing that with just a little bit of visual basic I could own
your printer.

~~~
jlgaddis
It's even easier than that -- you can even do it with `telnet`, `nc`, etc.

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timv
If only HP had obtained the rights to BeOS when they picked up WebOS (via
Palm). Then they would have a solution to this.

[http://www.bebox.nu/bebooks/BeBookR5/The%20Kernel%20Kit/Syst...](http://www.bebox.nu/bebooks/BeBookR5/The%20Kernel%20Kit/System.html#is_computer_on_fire\(\))

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KshitizSethia
This article is from 2011. What's the point in posting it now?

------
jbyers
(2011)

~~~
spangborn
I remembered reading this ages ago - I'm not sure why submitting a nearly two
year old article was necessary.

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pseudometa
The article is old... 2011

