Organizations need to continuously prevent themselves from both internal and external attacks. There are countless data breaches in the recent past that not only have had financial repercussions but also regulation and compliance implications and, in addition, public humiliation.

Additionally, your print infrastructure should be among the top IT devices that need to be secured along with your PCs and networks. And while there can be great depth to the security conversation, a summary of highlights is below.

Your Devices

Authentication features residing on your hardware and/or a software solution can control access to your document imaging equipment. Creating policies to protect the hard drives on all your printers and MFPs can ensure safety. While some devices may seem safe due to low usage, and because these devices sit on the periphery of a network, safeguarding against breaches on these printers is just as imperative.

Only 43% of print hardware have additional security features enabled. –InfoTrends Research

This means that most organizations simply aren’t doing enough and, worse, leaving themselves susceptible to a breach.

Your Information

Proprietary and private data needs to remain protected. Attacks from the outside may seem obvious threats, but it’s what could happen from the inside that should be considered as well.

18% of businesses have had company files accessed by unauthorized individuals. –InfoTrends Research

Therefore, one of the biggest necessities today is to secure digital documents that have sensitive data or proprietary information. Numerous methods exist to lock the document itself through encryption or digital rights management solutions or by protecting documents through authorization in a document management system.

Your Documents

Information that is stored digitally is wholly different than when files are printed. Often sensitive documents, such as company payroll, can be found sitting in an output tray of a print device for all to see. That’s just one example—and there’s a quick fix for it. A pull print feature requires that your employees must authenticate at the device for the file to be printed. This means they’ll collect it immediately.

75% of businesses haven’t yet implemented secure pull printing. –InfoTrends Research

Your Network

Security is a business priority, however keeping up to date with new and changing efforts can be challenging. In fact, according to InfoTrends Research, only 27% of people claim to be “very knowledgeable” about their company’s hardware and software systems for document printing in the office.

The IT network connects all technology within a company together, and that can also make it the most vulnerable to intrusion. To meet the growing and shifting needs of security, contacting a consultant, who can not only help you devise a holistic plan around security but also work with you to find existing and future vulnerabilities, could be very beneficial.

3 Takeaways

• Don’t skimp on security—and don’t assume that your company is impervious to a breach
• Many organizations aren’t doing enough with security even though some solutions are relatively easy to implement
• To be all-encompassing, be sure to secure all your devices, information, documents and the network