3 Things Every Company Needs to Know to Safeguard Print Security
Back in April 2016, major news organisations like The Independent and CNBC ran a story about how a man, who claims to work for a United Kingdom-based web hosting company, accidentally deleted all of his company’s data — including the backups. With a single line of code, the company ceased to exist completely. Fortunately, as Fortunepoints out1 later on, it was all a hoax on the part of the employee. Still, breaching a company’s sensitive data can, in fact, have detrimental and unforeseen consequences.
Most companies are cognisant of that. In fact, data protection is oftentimes one of the chief priorities — but what about print documents? Printers are sometimes overlooked when it comes to data security because, aside from sensitive information lying about in output trays, modern printers are capable of storing information, making them perfect for inappropriate interception.
Here, we provide some of the best practices around securing your printers and the data they hold within.
1. Secure Physical Access
The easiest way to secure physical access to printers is to move them to controlled areas where only authorised personnel can enter. On top of that, modern printers come with myriad physical ports, or quick access points for thumb drives or other storage devices. Disable those physical ports so that no one can plug in and retrieve sensitive information on the fly.
2. Secure the Data
Sensitive data is vulnerable as it travels through the network or when it sits within the printers’ internal hard drive. What you want to do is to encrypt your print jobs to protect data in transit. That way, even if data is intercepted, it will be difficult for the interceptor to decipher the content. Or, even better, turn off the ability for printers to store completed print jobs.
With Canon’s new imageRUNNER ADVANCE (iR-ADV) 6500 series of printers, comprehensive hard disk drive (HDD) security comes standard, with features such as HDD Data Erase, HDD Password Lock and HDD Encryption. These security features automatically overwrite and erase data as soon as the job is complete, thus reducing the risk of leaking sensitive information.
3. User Authentication
Authentication is a highly useful tool when it comes to printer security. This means that document owners have to authenticate themselves at the printer before their jobs can be printed. That way, no one can access sensitive materials meant for someone else within the organisation. Further control access by requiring authentication for access to the device’s settings and functions. This helps eliminate security breaches and, in the long run, even reduce printing costs. The new iR-ADV, for example, come with picture log-in that helps bridge security gaps, enabling better management of user access.
Canon: Security Made Easy
Aside from the abovementioned features, Canon’s new iR-ADV 6500 devices come with other highly sophisticated security features right out of the box.
Every third-generation model comes with built-in HDDs that are fully encrypted. For enhanced accountability, the Forced Details Output function tracks information, such as date and time, user identification, device IP and serial number, on every printed page. This facilitates higher security and control of printed documents.
Last but not least, the Universal Login Manager (ULM) is a simple way for users to authenticate themselves when accessing the device. This means that only you can access your print job and not anybody else. Administrators, too, will be able to restrict access to certain users or groups. For example, only authorised personnel are allowed to Scan and Send documents, thus discouraging sensitive information from leaking out.
1http://fortune.com/2016/04/18/guy-who-accidentally-deleted-company-prankster/