Office printers remain an often-ignored security vulnerability for businesses. These versatile devices can do wonders for our workflows, but unfortunately, unprotected printers also present risks to our sensitive data. According to Quocirca’s Global Print Security Landscape, 2019, 11 percent of all security incidents are print-related. Thankfully, there are ways to mitigate the risks presented by your humble office printer. And pairing with a Managed Print Services (MPS) provider is a great way to do just that.
While MPS provides businesses with many significant benefits, perhaps none is more important these days than helping to secure your printers and protect your confidential information. For starters, an MPS solution will increase the security of your printed documents by preventing them from walking away from the printer. Once data is put to paper, it can easily end up in the wrong hands and be accessed by unauthorized employees. However, your MPS provider can keep your documents from prying eyes through pull or follow-me printing, which holds a printed job on a server until it is released at the printer by an authorized user with the proper password, PIN, or ID badge. No more documents full of sensitive data sitting in the printer’s tray for all to see. You’ll also benefit from access to print management software that restricts what documents can be printed and tracks all print jobs across your entire fleet.
With a networked printer installed in your office, printed documents are not a bad actor’s only method of accessing your information. Like any other networked device, your printer can be hacked via a network, providing cybercriminals access to data stored on its hard drive. Your MPS provider will help protect your networked printers through measures such as changing and strengthening default passwords, regularly updating and monitoring firmware, and encrypting all print data transmitted over your network. These simple but essential steps will eliminate vulnerabilities in your networked printers.
Even when your device’s time in your workplace has come to an end it still presents a risk to your confidential information. That internal hard drive that processed all of those print jobs over the years still has a copy of that data, just waiting to fall into the wrong hands. However, when you partner with a trusted MPS provider, you can be assured that the hard drives in any device leaving your building will be wiped clean, erasing them of any information that could cause harm to your business.
Printer security is something no organization can afford to take lightly. Managed Print Services allows you to transfer the burden of managing your printing devices—including printer security—to knowledgeable, trained, and experienced professionals. If you’d like to learn more about MPS or get started with a complete assessment of your print environment, contact us today.
