Experience the Benefits of Secure Printing
Yes. Secure printing is really necessary. There’s no two ways about it.
When your business prints without any security measures in place, it puts itself at risk for hacking, stolen information, lawsuits, and fines -- just to name a few unfortunate outcomes.
That’s because your office printers see a lot of activity. HR prints out offer letters, resignation letters, payroll information, benefits information...and that’s just HR. Your department heads might be printing contracts to review on the train home from work. Your marketing department could be printing mock-ups of a new campaign you’re about to launch. Your employees may be printing any number of materials with confidential information contained within.
When your printers are located in commonly accessible areas with no permissions requirements, the company is at risk for documents being stolen or copied, as well as for the physical removal of the printer’s hard drive (if it’s a multi-function printer) where information can be decrypted and disseminated.
But the security vulnerabilities of an office printer don’t end with physical breaches. Since printers are connected to the office network, should a hacker gain access to an unsecure printer digitally, they could then gain access to the entire business network, more easily retrieving information from business devices.
When you choose secure printing, you decrease the threat of:
- Stolen documents
- Stolen hard drives
- Physical tampering
- Network breaches
- Lawsuits and fines
What Does Secure Printing Look Like?
You can easily increase the security of your printing by choosing a multi-functional printer (MFP) with software that’s designed to protect against hacking. A printer with secure printing will require any approved employee on the network with access to the printer to enter in his or her Personal Identification Number (usually four numbers) before a document will print. Sometimes, MFPs may allow an employee to scan a badge or enter a pin from their computer as well.
Once the PIN is entered or the badge is swiped and the document is printed, the content is immediately deleted from the hard drive. This means should someone steal the hard drive, they’ll find nothing on it.
With secure printing, documents don’t lay waiting for their owners and hard drives don’t remain rich with business information. Because the printer only operates when presented with the correct employee credentials, it also makes it much harder for a hacker to use the printer as a weak point of entry to your company’s network.
Secure printing is a must for the modern business! To learn more about how to get your office an MFP with secure printing, you can reach out to the printing pros at Matthijssen Business Systems today.
