Enterprise Secure Printers

As a security professional with over 29 years experience, one thing I have found when completing an information security risk assessment is that many companies neglect to consider the security risks of their printers and imaging devices.

All multi-function printers have a hard drive and thus are at risk of being hacked. The hacker can access every document that the company has printed or copied. Even one unsecured printer could leave the entire network open to attack. 

HP Enterprise Printer Manufactures has adopted protocols for hard drive imaging that meet or exceed guidelines for institutions like the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

When you consider the private information that many companies print and copy on a daily basis, you can see the magnitude of issues that neglecting to have a secure printer could cause.

The potential for a security breach caused by an unsecured printer could cause serious problems for a business and their clients. The ramifications for a business of a security breach caused by an unsecured printer can hurt a businesses’ reputation if the stolen documents are made public. This can cause negative publicity and financial consequences.

The solution to this very real problem is to use encrypted connections to send print jobs to your printer. When addressing the issue of printer security, companies need to purchase Secure printers that offer security measures that protect a company’s data and information. HP is a company that is not only bringing the issue of printer vulnerabilities to light but is also doing something about it. HP FutureSmart printers support the “Big 4” security features that meet the criteria for optimal security.

The solution to this very real problem is to use encrypted connections to send print jobs to your printer. When addressing the issue of printer security, companies need to purchase Secure printers that offer security measures that protect a company’s data and information. HP is a company that is not only bringing the issue of printer vulnerabilities to light but is also doing something about it. HP FutureSmart printers support the “Big 4” security features that meet the criteria for optimal security.

When purchasing or using a printer, there are six key areas that you should address to ensure printer security within the technology stack.  The printer should have: 

1. A secure boot process
2. Firmware code integrity
3. Run-time intrusion detection
4. Network behaviour anomaly detection
5. Continuous assurance of security policy settings
6. Real-time threat detection and analytics

 HP Enterprise FutureSmart fleet of printers offers embedded security features and supports the four embedded security features: HP Sure Start, whitelisting, run-time intrusion detection, and HP connection Inspector. 

When doing a security risk assessment, printers must be included in the security framework. A printer stores data and this data is vulnerable to malicious attacks. It is imperative to protect this data to protect your business and clients from leaked personal and business information. When you consider the private information that gets copied or printed on a daily basis in any business, you can understand the need for securing your printers from risk. 

HpFutureSmart printers offer a solution to the risk of malicious attacks to your business via your printer. Protecting your business and your clients from a security breach is crucial to your business’ productivity.

For more information on HPFutureSmart printers you can go this link:

https://www8.hp.com/ca/en/solutions/security/thewolf.html