Businesses invest a lot of money to protect themselves from security threats, but frequently fail to secure their print environment as well. Large multipurpose copiers and printers are now as common as modern PCs. They can share papers and access the cloud over WIFI. Even if we can deal with hackers and email frauds more effectively, we often overlook copier security. This could indicate a serious weakness in your security system. Here’s how you should safeguard your print environment.
Pick up your confidential documents from the copy machine
The copy tray is a common place where people leave their private documents unattended for a long period of time. Because anyone may easily access those documents, this poses a security concern in your print environment. When a job is sent to the copier, the user should be required to swipe their ID card or enter a password in order to retrieve the printed documents.
Use a Secure Socket Level (SSL) certificate
Data is securely encrypted between computers, but not when a document is sent to the copier. It could just be transmitted as clear text which is a big security risk. Improve your copier security by using a secure socket level (SSL) certificate. A lot of modern copiers and printers provide these, so if you have any older models, it’s time to upgrade them for some new ones.
Increase Copier Security by Regularly Overwrite Your Copier’s Hard Drive
Set up a regular schedule to overwrite your copier’s hard drive. You can do this once a month or after every job. Make sure to update your copier’s software to the latest version. The new version of the software can fix any bugs and patch security holes to keep your data safe. Place some restrictions on which file formats should be allowed for printing. Avoid sending documents ending with a ‘.exe.’ extension and only allow PDF’s, Word Documents, or JPEGs.
Educate Your Staff about Copier Security
Finally, educate people about copier security risks and how to prevent them. Give everyone a set of guidelines to follow to ensure that your print environment is always safe.
