Cybersecurity best practices are continuously evolving as new threats emerge. Still, it’s not uncommon for companies to overlook an easy access point – multifunction printers. Unsecured printers are an attractive breach point for cyberattacks. According to research by the Ponemon Institute, 60% of surveyed companies had a data breach involving printers.
But, why printers? Here are 5 ways printers pose a cybersecurity risk:
- Network vulnerability – Even behind a wall, unsecured printers provide access to networks. Modern printers come equipped with operating systems and writable memory, which create potential access points for hackers to insert malicious code to gain access to your network for further security breaches.
- Attacks – Printing systems can experience denial-of-service (DoS) attacks as hackers exploit vulnerabilities. Your printers could become possessed machines, printing phantom jobs or transmitting unsolicited data. They can also be subject to more sophisticated attacks that expose confidential information.
- Data breaches – Unencrypted data is every hacker’s dream. Unencrypted data sent to a printer can be easily read using a standard PRN printer. Considering the amount of sensitive information that goes through your printer from financial records to client and employee information, it’s not hard to see why hackers love to target printers.
- Information leaks – How many times have you printed something for it to sit in the tray unattended for long periods of time? Information can be stolen off the device itself. Such information leaks open up your company to compliance issues, which could impact your financials and reputation.
- Mobile device printing – Modern printers have wireless access for convenience – however, hackers can intercept wireless transmissions to gain access to your network. It’s more challenging to provide network authentication and secure access to printers, especially when employees use third party apps to print from their mobile devices. Each device connected to a network can result in multiple entry points for hackers.
Making Printing Safer
There are many ways to secure your printing systems against malicious interference. Start by:
- Ensuring your security audits and risk prevention strategies include your printers.
- Using encrypted communication protocols and disabling any unused ports and services on the printer.
- Having a system in place that wipes hard-drive data periodically—mainly before removing the printer.
- Use two-factor authentication that ensures users identify themselves before gaining access to print data. This strategy helps protect your business from internal threats.
- Encrypt print data to ensure it won’t be of value if it happens to fall into the wrong hands.
Once a printer is compromised, so is the rest of your network. For this reason, your cybersecurity procedures must directly address printers to maintain proper network and data security compliance. Ask us about our solutions to keep your print / copier fleet protected!
