“Over 50% of internet-connected printers are considered to be insecure and vulnerable to attack.”
Is your network printer secured?
Modern technology’s evolution has brought a number of great advancements for IT professionals and business owners. And printers are no longer exceptions in this field that holds almost half of the IT world in its palm. Today’s printers are more advanced, but convenient printing comes at the expense of security. In a recent survey, it was found that 90% of printer users have suffered data loss due to unsecured printing.
In the never-ending race for better, it’s no surprise that printer security often falls on the back burner. With cyberattacks on the rise, office printers are at high risk of a security breach.
Additionally, unmanaged and unsecured printers are gateways to a breach in your network. Therefore, it is crucial for organizations to diagnose the gaps in their print security environments and take the necessary action to secure all their devices. In this connection, Managed Print Services play an important role. Most businesses now opt to work with a MPS.
A1 Printer technicians, as Managed Print Services Partners, are experts in printers and copiers and constantly monitor printer threats to ensure that your printer security never becomes outdated, allowing for total peace of mind.
If you are hunting for the best printer security tips on how to build a secure printer environment, check out this blog and follow the guide to maximize security in your print environment.
Why a secure and effective printing environment is vital for your business?
Printer security is the most underestimated area in every organization. Security is vital for the printing environment. Unfortunately, in the current digital landscape, printers and copiers are some of the most overlooked office equipment. Some of the security risks associated with printers are malware infections, phishing attacks, data theft, unauthorized access etc.
If your printer is infected, it will allow hackers to –
- send unauthorized print jobs to your printer
- access confidential information
- access saved documents
- launch denial-of-service attacks
The most recent example of a printer security breach is the ‘Giraffe Attack’ occurred in Canada and Europe. The hacker Giraffe hacked printers and sent unauthorized print jobs, appealing to subscribers to PewDiePie’s YouTube channel. And the surprising part of this story was that it just took him 30 minutes to learn, download, and script the whole process.
Hence, if you want to limit the risk of getting your sensitive information exposed to outsiders, printer security should be the most essential part of any organization.
How to Secure Your Printer Environment?
To mitigate printer security risks, here are few ways you can follow easily:
- Changing the printer password on a regular basis.
- Keeping your firmware up-to-date.
- Use encryption for both print jobs and the storage in the printer itself.
- Clean the hard drive of old printers and other network connected devices before discarding them.
These are some of the common network security basics that businesses should follow to safeguard printers from a variety of cyber-threats and maximize their protection.
Essential Steps to Improve Security of Your Print Environment
The 5 ways to secure printer environment are described below. Businesses can significantly reduce their copier and printer system vulnerability by taking these steps.
Let’s discuss them in detail:
Perform Regular Firmware Update
The first step in ensuring your printer’s security is to regularly update your printer’s firmware and security settings to the latest version. Staying up-to-date with the latest security patches will prevent your device from being infected by the latest threats.
Make sure you check the latest firmware updates from time to time to keep your printer protected. Updates can be checked by navigating to Setup > Printer Update. Through this, you can install new updates automatically.
Use a Firewall
A secure and reliable firewall is a must to protect the device from known vulnerabilities and prevent hackers from exploiting them. A firewall will prevent hackers from remotely accessing your printer from outside the network via unused protocols.
Use USB Cables to Connect Printer to the Computer
Network printers are more vulnerable to attacks from hackers. Therefore, you should consider connecting your printer to the computer with a USB cable instead of a wireless network more often. If you do this, your printer won’t be exposed to the network at all, which will reduce the likelihood that a hacker can use it.
Set Up Authentication Controls and Limit Access
Implementing print management software will allow businesses to control who has access to their systems and what documents can be printed. It allows only designated staff to use printers through badge scans or pass codes.
Conduct Print Audit
Print monitoring allows administrators to make better decisions on how their print machines are being used. Conducting an audit of print activity can identify and resolve any out-of-compliance issues quickly. It can help identify any suspicious activity or unauthorized access attempts. It also helps to review security policies and make any updates to ensure that they are consistent with industry best practices.
So, these are some essential security measures that should be on your to-do list to maximize efficiency and security in your print environment. Follow these steps seriously to significantly reduce the risk of your printer and copiers being compromised.
Major Printer Brands Providing Security Features into their Devices
| HP Printers | HP Wolf Enterprise series claim to be the world’s most secure printer that can detect and self-heal from malware attacks. |
| Ricoh Printers | Ricoh’s proprietary operating system claims to be less susceptible to malware attack along with disk overwrite security and hard disk encryption. |
| Brother Printers | It claims to offer unique PIN to all print jobs for extra security. |
| Xerox Printers | Xerox’s security team claims to offer the best security features like intrusion prevention, device detection and McAfee system. |
| Canon Printers | Canon’s imageRUNNER aDVANCE systems has the ability to limit device communications to designated IP addresses with control over individual network protocols and ports. |
Keep your Network Connected Printers Secured with A1 Printer!
Keeping your print machine safe and secure is not difficult. If you are worried about how to maximize the efficiency and security of your office printer, get the expert’s suggestion from A1 Printer Repair USA. When it comes to providing the best printer services to customers, A1 technicians go a long way. Our world-class experienced printer technicians in USA will unveil all vulnerabilities within your existing network and help you create a more secure printer environment for your organization. Contact us today at our toll-free number, +1 (928) 514-2464.
By contacting our printer experts, your tech team can confidently say that their company’s entire printer fleet is secured.
Enjoy Secure and Streamlined Printing!