HP refutes printer security flaw claims

 　　SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Tuesday issued a statement to refute some security flaw claims on its LaserJet printers.

　　"Today there has been sensational¹ and inaccurate² reporting regarding a potential security vulnerability with some HP LaserJet printers. No customer has reported unauthorized access. Speculation³ regarding potential for devices to catch fire due to a firmware change is false," HP said in the statement.

　　Tech blog "The Red Tape Chronicle" reported earlier Tuesday that researchers from Columbia University found that a feature named "remote firmware update" on HP's Internet-connected LaserJet printers could allow hackers⁵ take control of the device by installing malicious⁶ software, and even manage the printer to catch fire.

　　In the statement, HP said that its LaserJet printers have a hardware element called "thermal⁷ breaker" that is designed to prevent a part of the device from overheating or causing a fire, noting that it cannot be overcome by a firmware change as it was reported.

　　The Palo Alto, California-based company said that the specific vulnerability exists for some HP LaserJet printers it placed on a public Internet without a firewall. It conceded that on Apple's Mac computers and PCs running Linux system, it is possible for a specially⁸ formatted⁹ corrupt¹⁰ print job to trigger a firmware upgrade.

　　The company said that it is building a firmware upgrade to mitigate¹¹ the issue and suggested consumers could place printers behind a firewall and disable remote firmware upload on exposed printers.

　　Researchers said in the earlier report that they believed the flaw is not limited to HP printers and millions of printers around the world could be vulnerable to hack⁴ attacks.

1 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

2 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

5 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

6 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

7 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 formatted   

adj. 格式化的 动词format的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• Recovers Data even if DRIVE NOT FORMATTED message is displayed. 复苏的数据，即使驱动器未格式化的讯息显示。
• Cold-blood vertebrate has formatted multi-cold adaptation artifice in the various habitation environment. 冷血脊椎动物在多种多样栖息环境中形成多种耐寒策略。

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。