20 Aug Get the Facts About Printer Security
When developing a cybersecurity policy for a business, it is common to protect both company and client data, but one area that is frequently forgotten is printer security. Here is what you need to know about security to protect your printer system.
Security Risks
Printers are susceptible to any number of security risks, but multifunction printers (MFPs) have a variety of features and settings that can be manipulated to cause serious security problems for you and your business. The most obvious security hazard, with any printer, is unauthorized access. It is all too easy for someone to deliberately, or accidently, print or pick up a print job that contains documents that were not meant for them.
Another risk is the capability for someone to access settings within the printer to reroute print jobs to another printer or access the print job history to reprint documents. One threat that is often overlooked is the ability for a printer to be used as an access point to infiltrate and attack other systems on the same network. If the printer is on a wireless network, many of these liabilities can occur from an external attacker.
Protection
There are some easy changes that can be made to help protect your printer system. The most important thing you can do is to run regular updates for your printer’s operating system. Updates almost always include revisions to security protocols to fix any possible security breaches. The second change is deactivating any features that are not being used by your business. This decreases the possibility of someone being able to hack your printer through unnoticed applications.
As part of your cybersecurity policy, assigning each user their own PIN and/or password to access their own print jobs can highly reduce the chances of another person’s print jobs being accessed by an unauthorized person. Taking it one step further and activating a two-factor authentication process that requires users to enter their PIN as well as using an authentication app to verify their identity can make for even stronger security.
Arizona Business Equipment can offer secure printers and other customized security solutions to comply with your IT security needs. For all your business equipment needs in Tucson, call (520) 888-2679.