From conversations with security experts to careful analyses of cyber attacks on unmanaged printers, two things are clear:
- The typical organization’s print environment is a serious threat to cybersecurity.
- Managed Print Services (MPS) can help reduce this cybersecurity threat.
What’s not so clear is, exactly how does MPS mitigate the threat?
In this post, we’ll answer that question by showing you 5 ways managed print services provide security for your organization.
1- Regular Updates
HP Print Security Advisor, Lindsey Hearst explained that printer management is one of the most commonly overlooked security vulnerabilities. What she’s referring to when she says “printer management” includes firmware, hardware, and encryption updates that are necessary to keep printers secure.
Without an MPS provider, it’s up to your organization to stay up to date on new software and hardware vulnerabilities. In most cases, organizations don’t have the necessary resources available to monitor and fix known vulnerabilities.
MPS providers like ARC bolster your print security by supporting your process for regular updates.
2- Proper, secure configuration
Anytime you add a new device to your network—whether it’s a printer or other device—you must configure that device’s security settings.
Because most enterprise-level MFP printers and copiers come with more than 250 security settings related to a variety of protocols, many printers’ default settings are never touched. For example, the Embedded Web Server Password, a basic security setting, is unset by default. And without it, bad actors can find the password online and change any settings on the device.
Leaving some or all of these settings unconfigured essentially leaves a gaping hole in your cybersecurity framework. With an MPS provider like ARC, these complicated settings are all taken care of for you.
3- Hardware and software selection
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of options for print hardware and software. It gets even more complicated when you’re trying to find the ideal mix of security, functionality, and affordability for your organization.
With an MPS provider like ARC by your side, though, you can draw on our decades of experience and up-to-the-minute knowledge of print hardware and software. That way, you know you’re going to have hardware and software that keeps your organization secure while meeting other critical business needs like functionality and affordability.
4- Secure workflows
Ask any cybersecurity expert and “people within the organization” will always be at or near the top of their list of greatest security risks. When you work with an MPS provider, they can help you design and implement print workflows that mitigate the risks presented by the people within your organization.
For example, securing the print output tray with a print retrieval solution is one simple way that MPS providers help you prevent private company information from falling into the wrong hands. Plus, while making your print workflow more secure, MPS providers can also make the process more efficient.
5- Print security expertise
According to Quocirca’s report on print security, 62 percent of organizations use MPS to “gain access to print management and security skills.”
Simply put, most organizations don’t have the resources to plan and implement a truly robust print security program. Fortunately, MPS providers can fill that gap, which eliminates the need for a large investment in creating an in-house program.
In this way, a true MPS provider like ARC becomes a print security partner, helping to guide your short and long-term security strategy while removing the amount of time required from your IT team.
Want to See How MPS Could Provide Security for Your Organization?
In reality, you won’t know just how big an impact MPS can have on your organization until you try it for yourself. Only then can you see how a customized MPS program helps improve security and efficiency at your organization. During a short 20-minute discussion with an expert from ARC, you can quickly learn how to properly evaluate your company’s needs.
Learn more about ARC’s MPS programs today!
