What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you consider safeguarding your business’s digital data?
You probably said cybersecurity.
While proper cybersecurity measures are critical to protecting your people and your data, your print environment is just as vital. Unsecured printing practices can result in data breaches and regulatory compliance violations, costing businesses big.
Here are the five best secure printing practices that businesses should be using daily to secure their printing environment and safeguard their company.
What is Secure Printing?
While printers used to be fairly simple and hard-wired, printing has advanced to the point of including new technologies that open up a new world of opportunities—and vulnerabilities.
Secure printing is the protection of printer machines and printed materials throughout every phase of their lifecycle. From digital document creation to the final disposal of printed materials, secure printing is a series of intentional and robust strategies. Features such as cloud networking, document management, Bluetooth, WiFi, and even 3D printing now push businesses to consider secure printing measures.
What are the Risks of Unsecured Printing?
Installing a new printer and then leaving it unprotected can open up your business to many unwanted risks.
Data Breaches
Data breaches are the most significant and often overlooked risk. Sixty-one percent of businesses claimed at least one of their company data breaches in the last year were linked to a printer. Unprotected printers become easy targets for data theft, whether carried out digitally or physically.
Compliance Violations
Certain industries such as healthcare, government, and finance operate under strict data protection regulations. Unprotected printers could leak information and become a source of non-compliance that leads to legal consequences, fines, and operational setbacks.
Unauthorized Data Access
Shared spaces like offices and corporate buildings leave room for unauthorized access to information. Anyone can view documents in shared or public printers, making high-traffic printing areas especially at risk of data infringement.
Financial and Reputational Consequences
The damages of printer-related security breaches reach far beyond information alone. They can also lead to financial loss, fraud, erosion of client trust, legal consequences, and damage to the company’s reputation.
5 Secure Printing Practices Your Business Needs
Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate the risks associated with unsecured printing. Implementing printer security requires your company to address its printing infrastructure, practices, and output. Here are some of the best practices to follow.
1. User Authentication
To ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive documents, set up user authentication protocols. This typically includes technological safeguards like:
- User PIN Codes
- ID Badge Scanning
- Biometric Verification (e.g., fingerprint recognition)
- 2-Factor Authentication (e.g., through a user’s secured app or email)
For instance, many law firms now require attorneys to scan their ID badges to access printer rooms or case-sensitive documents. This encourages client confidentiality and mitigates the risk of stolen information.
2. Pull Printing
Create a system that requires people to be physically present at the printer in order for it to print documents. Pull printing, also called “follow-me printing,” delays print jobs on a server until the authorized user initiates completion at the printer.
This practice prevents employees from forgetting their printed documents and leaving them unattended at the printer. For example, hospital employees could ensure that patient records are only printed when the requesting doctor is physically present at the printer, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access.
3. Data Encryption
It’s important to encrypt printer data in transit and at rest to protect private information from being intercepted by unauthorized parties. Encryption methods typically involve using secure protocols for data transmission, such as HTTPS or IPsec.
You may also want to enable hard drive encryption on printers that have local storage and implement end-to-end encryption for machines that print sensitive documents. For instance, a financial services company might use 256-bit AES encryption for all print jobs containing client financial data, ensuring its protection.
4. Auditing and Monitoring
Regularly audit and monitor printing activities to detect security risks early. Prevention is crucial to avoiding security breaches. To monitor secured printers, you must:
- Track all printer activities on a daily and weekly basis.
- Require users to share detailed printer usage reports.
- Notify administrators or IT managers of suspicious activity.
- Run security software checks on printer and computer programs.
5. Printer Hardening
Hardening your printers secures both the physical and digital aspects of the machines. This process includes regular firmware updates to address security vulnerabilities. We also encourage the disabling of unnecessary features and ports that might be optional perks that come with your printer—these can leave printers open to data breaches.
Secure the printer network by using firewalls and segmentation. Additionally, implement other physical security measures suggested by your IT team or printer provider. For example, it’s common for government agencies to lock printers in secure, access-controlled rooms and disable all unused ports to prevent unauthorized connections.
Secure Your Printers With Meridian Imaging
By securing your printers with these recommended practices, your company reduces the risk of data breaches and stolen information.
With Meridian’s customized solutions, we help you evaluate your existing printer environment for its biggest vulnerabilities and opportunities. We develop robust security plans, help you implement these measures, and provide ongoing support for your team.
Contact Meridian for a consultation and learn how we can help safeguard your printing processes.
