While most organizations are committed to stregthening security, more than half (56 percent) leave printers out of their security strategy. What’s alarming about this is that the printer is one of the most common targets for cyberattacks.
In fact, a recent survey revealed that 60 percent of respondants had experienced a data breach involving a printer. In addition to the tremendous expense associated with these data breaches, the average cyberattack took 46 days to resolve.
If this doesn’t leave you feeling unsettled, here are several ways that a hacker can wreak havoc on your business through an unsecure printer:
- Network exposure. Even behind a firewall, printers have become a popular source for hackers to gain access to your network. If you have not included your printers in your security strategy, your company is at risk of suffering catastrophic consequences as a result of a data breach.
- Cyberattacks. Cyberattacks on printers come in a variety of formats, from changing all of the settings on the machine to denial of services (DoS) attacks.
- Data breaches. Surprisingly, many companies still have unencrypted print data, which is a hacker’s dream.
- Printer pillagers. It’s not uncommon for print jobs to be left on the tray for extended periods of time. However, if this information is confidential, leaving it exposed means that anyone can see it. This creates the risk of an ill-intentioned passerby viewing the sensitive information and/or it becoming leaked to the public.
- Exposure through mobile devices. Today’s employees want the ability to print from their mobile devices. However, the more devices that are introduced to a network, the more vulnerable the network becomes.
Here are several effective ways to stregthen printer security:
- Require all devices to use encrypted communication protocols.
- Put a protocol in place to destroy the printer’s hard-drive before it’s removed from circulation.
- Make user authentication a requirement for using printers.
- Practice pull printing in office environments that print a high volume of confidiential information.
- Always use current and legitimate printer firmware.
Printer security needs to be a priority for your business. Contact us for additional solutions to secure your printer.
