In today’s business environment, most organisations have solutions in place to help prevent them being the victim of cyber crime.
Typically, though, this centres on their IT infrastructure and often little consideration is given to the printing and scanning devices in the business.
Security gaps in the printers on your network can allow entry to hackers, who then find ways to steal data and / or launch a malware attack into your business.
Ten tips to tighten up the security of your network printers:
- Reset the Administrator password from the default password that was set by the manufacturer.
- Ensure that any firmware updates that have been released to fix known vulnerabilities, are applied. (Some newer devices have continuous online security updates built in.)
- If you have a print server, set it so that printing can only happen from specified IP addresses.
- Remember that data gets saved on Hard Disk / SSD Drives inside Multi-function printers. Deploy an encryption kit. When the device reaches end of life, make sure the HDD is sanitised before disposal.
- Switch on pdf encryption when sending a scanned document.
- Disable services that your business doesn’t use – such as Air Print.
- Switch off network ports you don’t need, and any external hardware ports, such as USB.
- Review the sending options on the device. If you don’t use Broadcast Transmission (sending to a group) then switch it off.
- Review who has access to settings / logs. Remember that the title of a document might reveal something confidential.
- The human factor – use software that requires users to identify themselves at the machine (PIN or fingerprint) so there is a record of who is doing what.
To discuss cyber security or your print options in more detail, please give us a call or enter your contact details here.