Connected workplace devices such as multi-function printers (MFPs) have become the entry point of choice for increasingly opportunistic data thieves. For SMBs, this is further compounding their growing cybersecurity challenges – not only are they just waking up to the idea that they're a prime target for malicious hackers, they're also coming to realise that attacks could come from any direction.
To find out exactly how SMBs are responding to this growing threat, Sharp recently comissioned a new European study – specifically looking at how print security behaviours are changing amongst the SMB community. What we found was very interesting, but raised more worrying questions than it answered.
There's a problem with print security
The Sharp survey into print security behaviours suggests that a simple lack of awareness is a big part of the problem. Many people still think of the MFP as the unassuming workhorse in the corner of the office; and they often fail to appreciate that today’s networked MFPs are full-blown information hubs which – if unsecured – serve as an excellent entry point for hackers wishing to penetrate business or corporate networks. The survey found that across Europe 48% of office workers have never heard of print devices being hacked (a figure that rose to 65% in the UK) and less than 10% considered their MFP to be a security risk.
But security is not only a matter of technology but also of behaviour. MFPs tend to be located in central locations where they are easily accessible to staff – and therefore equally accessible to any third parties that may be in the building. The majority of office workers interviewed by Sharp said that anyone could use the office MFP and that no authentication was required to do so. And only 22% of those interviewed identified print-outs left in the paper tray as being a potential security risk – despite the fact that almost a quarter (24.5%) said they had found confidential or sensitive information on a printer; and more than 10% have left information on a printer that they didn’t want bosses or colleagues to see.
This lack of security awareness would logically impact upon policy-setting and training. After all, why would you create policies to address a threat you don’t know exists; or train people to look out for dangers you believe to be non-existent? And that assumption was consistent with the findings of the Sharp survey: 20% of SMBs said they had no security processes in place for their MFPs and that 40% of people claimed never to have received any training or formal advice on how to use an MFP securely.
Action stations
So, there's clearly a major problem with print security today. But, if you own or manage an SMB, the main thing you're probably wondering right now is what you can do about it. After all, you (like most SMBs) have limited resources to help solve the problem – which is of course one of the factors that has made your business such an appealing target to begin with.
The good news is that the latest generation of MFPs – like those from Sharp – come prepared to meet the challenges of modern print security. Your business doesn't have the time or resources to constantly worry about the security of your print processes and infrastructure – so we've created devices that will handle it for you.
Sharp's latest MFPs are secure right out of the box. Capabilities like data encryption and access control help you manage who can print what, and ensure that data sent for printing remains secure throughout the process. Firmware-based attack prevention and self-recovery capabilities quickly shut down malicious attacks that target the MFP. Some of our MFPs even feature a physical reminder to remove your documents when you have finished scanning, to prevent original hard copies from falling into the wrong hands.
For those that want to find out more about print security issues, Sharp has worked with the ethical hacker Jens Müller to produce a handy guide to MFP & printer security for SMBs. However, simply knowing more about these ‘out of the box’ features and taking the time to implement them properly will mean that, if a hacker decides that your SMB is worth bothering with, you are much better set up to keep them at bay. If your print security is broken, Sharp can help you fix it.