A New Printer Hack Sounds Like Remote-Controlled Arson

Hacking somebody's printer remotely seems like a silly idea -- how would you pick up your fraudulent documents? But researchers at Columbia say they've found a way to do it, and one effect could be setting the things on fire from afar. In fact, aside from some vague references to identity theft in the MSNBC report that broke the story, setting a printer on fire seems like the only concrete effect criminals can achieve in the newly discovered hack. Theoretically, the vulnerability in Hewlett-Packard printers that makes them susceptible to control from outside hackers could be used to establish a "beachhead" in otherwise secure computer networks.

Read the full story at The Atlantic Wire.