Print Security, The Overlooked Vulnerability

Cyber-security has become a vital asset in recent years due to the increase of malicious cyber threats. This applies to all types of organizations: businesses of various sizes, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, etc. We have even written a separate article about the alarming trends of cyber-security that can not be ignored.

Every connected asset which becomes a part of a network becomes a potential opening for attack. There is however, one aspect of the network security that organizations often overlook. That is print security.

Secure print refers to printing that incorporates specific privacy standards to prevent unauthorized access to the data on the printed information. This security concept applies to both the network and hardware. Because printers are commonly seen as solely a hardware set up, print security has been an overlooked vulnerability.

According to the Global Print Security Report by Quocirca, 60% of businesses in the UK, US, France and Germany suffered a print-related data breach in 2018. The data loss related to these breaches costs companies an average of more than $400K.

In IT Management, preventive measures always cost less than reactive measures. A breach, including one into the print environment, can prove debilitating when it comes to costs. In a Managed Print Service, typically the service provider monitors the environment of the organization which includes security as well. Click on the image below for more information on your print environment.