HP patches LaserJet security holes

If you own a LaserJet printer made by HP, you might want to look into updating the firmware to avoid potential hacker attacks.

About a month after MSNBC ran a heavily-hyped story that warned about printer security vulnerabilities that exposed users to "devastating attacks," HP released a firmware update to mitigate the issue.

However, the company did not provide any guidance about which printers are affected or which drivers need updating.

HP LaserJet owners are urged to visit HP's support page (http://www.hp.com/support) and visiting the "drivers and software" section.

According to the MSNBC article, which was based on the work of researchers from Columbia University, the affected printers can be remotely controlled by computer criminals over the Internet, with the potential to steal personal information, attack otherwise secure networks and even cause physical damage.