Originally published on August 29, 2017
Printers are often an afterthought when the subject of security arises. When, in reality, they’re central to how an organization operates. Sending a print job containing sensitive information begins with the end user, but the in-between channels are where that sensitive information is subject to be viewed (intentionally or unintentionally). We can always store passwords on digital documents, encrypt folders, and install VPNs to limit external access to our organization’s internal networks. But print security remains a challenge for three important reasons:
1. Printing is physical.
Digital documents can be locked away. We can restrict who’s able to access them and monitor when they do. Secure printing is another story. All too often, printed documents are left exposed for anyone to see—not just on someone’s desk, but right there in the printer’s output tray! Let the office gossip begin!
Furthermore, companies adopting a full-on remote workforce are witnessing a whole slew of problems with print security.
Here’s a short scenario for you: Let’s say, Steve, a remote employee, is trying to print a document for someone in HR residing at the company headquarters. This document gets delivered to the correct printer; however, the HR specialist left the office briefly. Steve’s document is now in the hands of anyone and everyone without his authorization. Now everyone can see that he got a pay raise and a promotion before it becomes public, leading to an HR disaster.
Situations like these are becoming more commonplace, leaving employees (or customers) exposed in a workplace that should be a safe haven for them.
2. Vulnerabilities when print jobs queue in the print spooler.
Recent vulnerabilities like Print Nightmare have wreaked havoc by potentially exposing company data. This vulnerability made it possible for attackers to access operating systems and run remote code with system privileges. Even now, PrintNightmare is still causing companies to second guess their printing architecture.
Companies utilizing print servers to execute print jobs are at a high risk of being attacked. This is especially true for companies utilizing multiple print servers since they have to be constantly updated, patched, and secured. Every time a print job goes to a print server, it’s at risk of being exposed to hackers fighting to gain access to your network. This makes your ability to control who sees your confidential information minimal, especially without embracing a serverless printing solution. For this reason, your print management solution must align with your company’s zero-trust security strategy to limit exposure to confidential documents.
The pandemic took a toll on companies worldwide and left a lot of people anticipating the death of the printer. For those who believed that was the outcome–think again. According to a poll by Quocirca in January 2022, despite the digitization of workflow during the pandemic, 44% of companies anticipate an increase in office print volumes, signaling an uptick in print security spending by 70% of organizations in the next 12 months.
It might be time to hop on the bandwagon and welcome print security (and the printer) with open arms.
3. Security in printing is only as strong as our end users.
Although we’ve all been told about the importance of creating a unique and virtually impenetrable password, it seems we still haven’t received the memo. The most popular passwords of 2022 are “password”, “qwerty”, and for the outside-the-box thinkers: “123456.” It’s easy to claim that these passwords stem from complete laziness; however, I would argue that no one wants to type in a 20-character password every time you need permission to perform a basic duty at work.
The same principle applies to secure printing. If you try to increase security in printing by making it a complex, six-phase procedure for end users, you’re more likely to discourage them from actually using it. End users should feel empowered when executing a print job, not overburdened. This is why secure printing solutions have to be convenient enough for users to prefer them over ordinary insecure methods.