Want to Better Secure Print At Your Workplace?  Start Here!

Is network security a priority for your business? We hope so because—let’s be honest—it needs to be! Considering that the average data breach in 2020 exceeded $150 million, failing to prioritize security at the office can literally cost you.

Don’t put off print security any longer, and we’re here to guide you and your team in getting started or enhancing your printer security strategy.

Answer These Print Security Questions

Before properly securing your office printer setup, you need to fully understand the current environment. First, clarify these important office printer questions:

  • What printer make(s) and model you’re using now?
  • How many printers, copiers, and multifunction devices do you have?
  • How old are your print device?
  • Are they all on your network?
  • How many of them are wireless?

The wireless question is important because these devices are much easier to hack into than their wired counterparts. Think about it: in the case of wireless devices, the only thing that’s protecting your network on that router is a simple password. If somebody has access to that printer and knows what they’re doing, it’s possible they could gain access to your network in minutes.

That’s why it’s so important to have a very strong password for your wireless devices. It sounds obvious, but this is a common mistake that puts your organization at serious risk for a data breach.

Printing Checklist

Compliant Doesn’t Mean Secure

Another mistake we see quite often is that organizations follow industry compliance guidelines like HIPAA or GDPR to the “T”. Whereas this might seem like a good thing, this also lets the bad guys know exactly where your security stands. Being compliant simply isn’t good enough.

Here’s another example: how many of your employees install the latest security patches as soon as they’re released? And how many of them click “Remind Me Tomorrow?” 

Guess who else gets security patches when they’re released by a printer manufacturer as well? Every hacker in the world!

When patches are released, the hackers know they have a short window to go after those vulnerabilities before people actually take the time to install those updates.

It’s the responsibility of the IT team to make sure that every device on their network is up to date—and that includes your printers. It’s one thing to make sure that you have proper security policies in place. It’s quite another to make sure that they’re followed every day.

Print Security Software is Your Friend

It’s not realistic nor feasible to think that your IT team can spend all of their time monitoring all of your printing devices and making sure they stay secure. That’s why it’s essential to add an extra layer of protection, and we strongly suggest using print security software for supreme protection.

The downside of security software solutions is that most are proprietary to their manufacturer. In that sense, your options are limited depending on which devices you have. However, with the right devices and software, your printer security is in good hands.

One of our favorite solutions is HP Security Manager. This platform constantly monitors all the printers on your network and it will detect if anybody tries to put any unauthorized devices on the network. You can read more about HP Security Manager here or in the video below.


If you’re looking to secure your printers, there’s no substitute for working with a trusted, reliable managed print partner.
Schedule a 15-minute call today to see if a no-cost assessment is your next best step. We’ll even send you a $25 Amazon card just for chatting.

Is network security a priority for your business? Connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn and keep up with my company imageOne. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

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