The Best Practices for Securing Your Printer

Printer Security, Printers, Security, Security Threats, , ,
31
Jul 2018

A printer may seem like a fairly innocuous piece of hardware, but it’s this assumption that makes it a major security risk. Therefore, it needs securing.

In a business, it’s likely that every single printer is networked. And, if something’s networked, then it represents a way into your network. Printers have been being hacked for decades, but it’s not as common as other threats such as malware and viruses. Accordingly, the average PC user in your organization is likely to be unaware of any security risks relating to that printer in the corner of the office.

However, there are plenty of risks and you need to understand what these are and how you can secure your printer and protect your network.

What are the Security Risks Associated with Printers?

When you’re working with printers, you need to be aware of the following security risks:

  • Back Door Access: Any piece of hardware on your network presents an opportunity for hackers to get a foothold in your network; printers are no different.
  • Print Data is Stored: A significant amount of print data is stored on internal memory within the printer and this can compromise the security of confidential data.
  • Susceptible Settings: Print settings can easily be manipulated to print to different locations and alter content during transmission to the printer.
  • Unsecure Documents: Printed documents can easily sit on printer trays for hours in a busy office and this is a major security risk as anyone can access them.

As you can see, there are myriad security issues related to printers, but how do you go about solving these threats?

Making Your Printer More Secure

Thankfully, there are simple and easy to action steps you can take to make your printer more secure:

  • Always Install Updates: As with all hardware, installing updates is one of the most crucial steps to take when it comes to securing hardware. All it takes is for one update to be missed for your printer to suddenly become vulnerable to new threats. It may seem fiddly and time consuming to install security patches, but it’s a lot easier to deal with than a compromised network.
  • Use Swipe Cards to Print: The best way to ensure that the correct people are picking up the correct documents from the printer tray is to employ swipe card authorization. For example, if one person in the office sends a spreadsheet to the printer, then it will only be printed once their card is swiped at the printer. This ensures that documents will not sit on the print tray for long periods.
  • Decommission Printers Correctly: When it comes to decommissioning printers, it’s vital that internal memory and hard drives are wiped. Once wiped, they should be destroyed to maximize the security of any data stored on them.
  • Limit Access to Settings: Access to printer properties and access settings should be tightly restricted to minimize disruption to the print network. A receptionist, for example, should have no need to install new drivers or disconnect printers from the network. All they’re likely to need access to is whether something is printed in color or black and white. Only IT professionals should have access to more complex, operational settings.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Default Passwords: The Biggest Weakness in IoT Security

IOT, Password Security, Security, Security Threats, , ,
06
Feb 2018

Passwords have always been one of the simplest security methods, but the presence of default passwords in the IoT (Internet of Things) is very dangerous.

Many IoT devices come set up with a default password in place which is certainly a nice option, but when that default password is the same across the entire product range then it presents a major security flaw. Say, for example, you buy an IoT fish tank (yes, these actually exist) and it shares the same default password as all other IoT fish tanks in that product range, it’s not going to take much research to discover that password, is it? Sure, it’s just as easy to change the password, but how many people would think about adjusting security settings on a fish tank?

As more and more organizations are installing IoT devices, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the dangers of default passwords and how to make your passwords more secure.

Default Passwords and their Dangers

It’s estimated that 15% of IoT device owners fail to change their default password, so it’s almost certain that all medium and large businesses have at least one employee with a susceptible IoT device. It’s partly laziness on the owners’ parts and it’s partly down to IoT technology being so new that people aren’t aware of the security risks. Nonetheless, it’s presenting a major security issue for organizations as hackers are taking full advantage of the situation.

Hackers are concentrating on the construction of malware which comes preloaded with huge lists of default passwords, so that breaking through defenses becomes that little bit easier and quicker. And this is exactly what happened when the Mirai botnet managed to infect nearly 185,000 IoT devices by exploiting default passwords. Default passwords are regularly being leaked and shared online, so the importance of changing these as soon as possible should be a paramount concern for organizations.

Protecting Against Default Passwords

If you want to improve the security on your IoT devices and protect the rest of your organization’s network, then you need to take note of the following tips:

  • Change the Password on a Protected Network: Before your IoT device is connected to the internet, make sure that it’s connected to an exclusive, protected network that cannot be accessed externally. This allows you to, first, test the device and, secondly, to change the password before it’s detected by IoT search engines such as Shodan. 
  • Run Regular Audits on All IoT Devices: Detecting and monitoring new devices on your network should become a priority. Any new and unknown devices to your network should instantly be blocked and an authentication process put in place. With this information you can then track down the device owner and ensure that any default passwords are changed before further access to the network is granted.
  • Don’t Use Admin as a Username: Admin is probably the most common username used in IT departments and hackers are well aware of this. Even if you’ve changed your default password to something highly cryptic, a simple username such as ‘admin’ instantly halves the amount of work a hacker has to do.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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