Print.IT Reseller - issue 61

PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 43 VOX POP continued... become an important, board level issue – mainly because cyber-attacks have increasingly been leaving long lasting effects on companies’ customer trust and bottom line. “Safeguarding documents should be a priority for all companies, as information is their biggest asset, especially when it comes to intellectual property, research and development materials. For some organisations, particularly in the legal and health sectors, the documents they print (think contracts and patient files), are extremely sensitive. “In leaving a print infrastructure unsecured, you’re in a sense allowing these documents to be accessed by anyone. It’s no longer good enough to be ‘quite sure’ that your data can’t go missing – all organisations need absolute knowledge that this will not happen.” Dave Weston, Head of Channel, UK & Ireland, OKI Europe (UK & Ireland) : “Yes. Organisations are taking printer security more seriously and becoming increasingly aware of the risks. All the focus on GDPR over the last couple of years has led to a greater understanding of the topic and a greater awareness of security risks. “Enterprises are becoming increasingly security-conscious. As a result, we are seeing this as a requirement in more tenders from mid- market businesses, corporates and public sector organisations, and more requests for detail and understanding around the security issue.” James Pittick, Director of B2B Indirect Sales, Canon UK : “The printer is no longer an isolated and unconnected device in the corner of the office – it’s a connected device, and with that comes risk. The most sensitive documents in a company pass through a printer, from personal information to critical business documents. This information must be kept secure and partners have an important role to play in ensuring the printer isn’t the weakest link. “In the world of IoT, a security system is only as strong as its weakest component. Hackers who gain access to one device can potentially access a business’ whole network! Data security is an increasingly important topic for organisations but it’s something that still needs more attention and continual review. Working closely with partners will be key for customers to keep abreast of the evolving threat landscape and changing legislation to best protect the workplace.” research by Quocirca that enterprises tend to place a low priority on print security. Organisations need to think about all security aspects when it comes to their printing network. This includes things like secure access, where businesses can ensure the only right employees have access to the information on their printing network. Embedding features like password logins is a powerful way to secure your network interface from outside attacks. In addition, businesses should ensure the hardware itself is ready in case of cyber-attacks. “Ensuring printer network information gets stored on secure hard drives is a powerful additional step towards preventing malicious users from gaining access to confidential company information. Companies should have a full spectrum approach to security, especially when it comes to their MFP network. This is an essential area of focus against cyber threats in today’s complex business information environments.” Aaron Anderson, Marcoms and Relationship Manager, Kyocera Document Solutions : “It’s definitely fair to say that there’s been a huge rise in awareness around just how vulnerable organisations are to printer attacks. “The recent spate of high profile attacks against UK organisations has only helped data security in particular John Gifford: “This was an interesting one, mainly because it achieved mainstream news where the large majority of print related breaches do not. “There is still a long way to go in terms of generating better awareness of print security within the boardroom – the danger being that the pace of cyber- attack trends targeting print devices is increasing at a far quicker rate. “We have been investigating the areas in which hackers obtain publicly accessible print device information and it is shocking both the quantities and locations that can be seen, and that is the simple, easy to access information. Anyone with a reasonable knowledge of hacking and the technology can do far more, be it internal or external threats. In spite of device security getting better, the attack surface is getting wider.” Eric Crump: “With a large number of devices having been hacked in multiple countries, the incident certainly generated extensive publicity as well as social media engagement, however, the underlying message highlighting printer vulnerability may not have been clearly understood and taken seriously enough. This is partly attributed to the non-malicious nature of the hack. Given that a second attack occurred, with more than 100,000 printers being affected, this clearly suggests that more needs to be done to educate organisations of all sizes on the importance of print security. “Despite the importance of print security, the only time printing and document security becomes a boardroom agenda item tends to be when a significant data breach occurs which Safeguarding documents should be a priority for all companies, as information is their biggest asset PrintIT Reseller: Recently, hackers demonstrated just how vulnerable connected devices in modern office spaces can be. In a bid to increase subscribers to YouTuber PewDiePie, they took control of internet-connected printers and followed up with another stunt targeting smart TVs around the world. To what extent do you think the PewDiePie hack highlighted the risks and has it brought print security higher up the boardroom agenda? Jason Cort