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IT
RESELLER.UK
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PRINT SECURITY
Quocirca’s latest report
Print security: An imperative in the
IoT era
explores the many points
of vulnerabilities around print. It
also highlights some of the key
offerings by print manufacturers
and independent software vendors
(ISVs) in the market. The following
hardware vendors HP, Konica
Minolta, Lexmark, Ricoh and Xerox,
and third-party ISVs – Nuance,
Ringdale, NT-Ware and Y Soft
participated in the study.
The far-reaching financial, legal and
reputational implications of a data loss
mean that information security is a
business imperative. Safeguarding the ever-
increasing volumes of valuable corporate
data against unauthorised access, has
become integral to maintaining business
operations and adhering to increasingly
vigorous data privacy compliance
requirements.
The cyber-attack surface area is
increasing for many organisations,
as connected Internet of Things (IoT)
endpoints proliferate. This threatens their
resilience from a business continuity
perspective, as well as from the potential
ramifications of a data breach that include
financial loss, brand and reputational
damage and loss of credibility in the
market place.
Weak link
Printers and multifunctional printers are
not immune to the security threat and are
vulnerable to the same risks as any other
device on the network. With advanced
connectivity and capacity to collect,
process and store large volumes of data,
the MFP has long been a weak link in the
IT infrastructure and this is an area that
businesses can no longer afford to be
complacent about.
The continued high level of print-
related data breaches demonstrates that
businesses need to do more to protect
their devices, network and data. An
organisation’s information security strategy
can only be as strong as its weakest
link. The expanding IoT security threat
landscape means that the challenge of
print security is moving beyond protecting
the printed page.
Despite the move to digital
communications, many businesses still
rely on printing to support key business
processes. MFPs are prevalent across
Louella Fernandes, Associate Director for Print Services and Solutions
at Quocirca, discusses the risks of an unsecured print infrastructure and
recommends best practices for integrating print into an overall information
security strategy
Print Security in
the IoT Era
companies of all sizes and as such they
are a critical network endpoint that must
also be secured. Even behind a firewall, an
MFP could potentially be a target for cyber
criminals looking to compromise corporate
or customer data.
Manufacturers must embed security
into the architecture and interfaces of their
products, in order to protect the lifecycle
of devices, from inception to retirement.
This means future proofing devices as
they become more powerful, store more
data and increase in functionality. MFPs
should have the ability to run automatic
security updates automatically, validate
new software and lock features where
appropriate.
Devices should have the intelligence to
identify a security event and communicate
such events and remediate as appropriate.
This means that print management
functionality must be integrated in broader
IT security management tools to provide
remote warning notifications for errors or
unusual activity.
And, businesses must take a proactive
approach to print security, this requires
a full security evaluation of the print
environment which can recommend
the appropriate technology – including
hardware and software security – as well
as end-user education on responsible and
secure printing practices, as left unsecured,
these smart, connected devices can provide
an open door to corporate networks.
By taking steps to analyse the potential
vulnerabilities of print environments,
businesses can mitigate risks without
compromising productivity.
Driver for MPS adoption
After cost, security is the second top driver
for adoption of a managed print service,
indicated by 81 per cent of respondents
in Quocirca’s recent MPS survey. Many are
taking up security assessments as part of
their MPS process. Amongst organisations
using MPS, the majority have started or
completed a security assessment of their
print infrastructure. This is more prevalent
in the professional services sector where
over half of organisations reported that
Even behind
a firewall, an
MFP could
potentially
be a target
for cyber
criminals
Louella Fernandes,
Associate Director,
Print Services and
Solutions,
Quocirca
Continued...
Most organisations recognise the risk of operating
an insecure print infrastructure. Key findings from
Quocirca’s survey include:
of large enterprises admitted suffering at least one
data breach through insecure printing
of respondents indicated an insecure print
infrastructure is a major concern
The professional services sector reported the highest level of
concern (88%) compared to the industrial sector (53%)
61%
72%
