So, you did your research, and now you have the best IT and cyber security company to protect your network, machines, phones, and tablets, but are you really protected?
Did you cover everything? Did you lock all the back doors? Probably not!
Did you protect your printers? Protecting your printers is often overlooked, but they can be hacked just like any other device.
Printers are often blind spots. Printers have evolved and are now almost always wireless. In the past, you needed to hack into the system to find the printers; now, they advertise themselves and are a lot easier to hack.
There are many ways to protect your endpoints (laptops, computers, and other devices), but Internet of Things (IoT) devices like printers require just the same attention.
Your printers are making not only your company vulnerable but also your clients!
Today’s printers are a lot smarter than they used to be. As a matter of fact, the printer has the same hard drive capacity as a 2-3-year-old computer. They have the capability to connect to the internet, receive information from anywhere and send and receive emails. Printers often save all the data that runs through them. That includes sensitive data that is transferred through the internet and sensitive data that is not encrypted and can be seen by anyone who is connected to the printer’s network. Hackers who got access to the printer’s network can access any other device connected to the same network.
So, what CAN you do to protect your printer?
1. Have ALL your printers behind a firewall.
2. Set all documents to be deleted after every few minutes or fully encrypt printers’ disks
3. Set a strict organizational access policy by the sensitivity level of the document
4. Set two-factor authentication to access the printer, for example, a card and code
5. Add an alert when scanning documents to email to make sure action is necessary
6. Install file integrity software
7. Set a separate network for printers
8. Raise awareness of printer security among all employees.
This article is part of the Armour Cybersecurity Small & Medium Enterprises Series
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