Wireless Security: 7 Ways to Protect Printing and Copying Machines
In a day where almost everything can be hooked up to a wireless network, wireless security is incredibly important. To protect the sensitive information that’ll come through the printers, copiers, and fax machines, we have 7 ways you can protect all of your office equipment that’s hooked up to a wireless network.
Are you concerned that your employees are using your business copiers and copiers for their own personal use?
Do you have a strong security policy when it comes to email and Internet access — but haven’t yet thought about how printer security software could help to make sure that all of your data is safe?
Believe it or not, many businesses never stop to consider how vulnerable a document left on the printer for a few hours can be. The same goes for digital printers or copiers with hard drives, which store information that hackers can get a hold of.
This post is here to tell you how to strengthen your wireless security when it comes to your printer and copier.
We’ll tell you more about all the steps — whether digital or in-person — you can use to keep your documents safe from prying eyes.
1. Don’t Neglect Physical Security
Before we speak more about how to use wireless security to protect your printers and copiers?
Let’s briefly cover the importance of physical security in your office or building.
Make sure that you and your team members are on the same page when it comes to how to leave and secure the building every night. Do you plan to limit access to your building on the weekend? Who is responsible for locking your building? Who will you give access to after hours?
Additionally, you might consider hiring a physical security guard to better protect your business — and therefore, your documents and printers — when you’re out of the office.
You should also invest in things like security cameras, motion sensors, and other physical security measures.
2. Track Printer and Copier Usage
When it comes to properly securing your printer and copier, you need to make sure that you can track who is printing what and when.
First of all, this restricts who has access to your printer and copier and helps to keep your documents secure.
It will also prevent your employees from taking advantage of you and printing their personal documents, or using your copier for any other kind of unauthorized use.
When you’re looking for the right printer security software, make sure that you’ve considered an option that allows you to track how much is being printed. You can also set your software up to monitor printing by department as opposed to individuals.
This works especially well for larger companies.
Also, look for an option that allows you to share your reports with your employees.
That person who seems to be printing far more than normal lately?
You might be shocked by, once they’re aware they’re being watched, how quickly those numbers go back down to normal.
3. Use Secure Printing for Your Team
But what is secure printing?
In a nutshell, it’s the process of having your team members swipe a card in the printer or the copier when they need to use it.
As mentioned earlier in this post, this helps you to track who is printing what. But it also prevents secure documents from sitting on the printer for several moments, uncollected and vulnerable.
Once a team member sends a job to the printer, they’ll need to enter their pin or swipe their card once they’re physically in front of the printer.
4. Encrypt Data on the Printer/Copier Hard Drive
You always take the time to encrypt your email, and you and your employees have an awesome policy in place when it comes to what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to Internet access at work.
You’ve even been able to restrict access to networks in your office, and of course, you’ve password-protected your Wi-Fi (more on that in a minute.)
But have you thought about instituting end-to-end encryption when it comes to your copier and printer?
If not, your data could still be highly vulnerable.
After all, if a team member scans documents or stores them on the hard drive?
Someone could easily access that information.
Make sure that you’ve enabled data encryption throughout your entire network — including your printer and your copier. This will make sure that no information is compromised as your data moves from a computer to a printer, scanner, or copier.
5. Secure Your Wireless Network
Of course, your overall wireless security is an especially key
Check out posts like this one to understand what makes for an excellent Wi-Fi password policy.
In general, you should aim to make your password a random string of letters, numbers, and special characters. You should also change that password once a month at minimum.
Always look into what your compliance regulations have to say about access to the wireless network, as well as wireless security in general.
Wireless Security and Your Office: Finding the Right Tools
We hope that this post has better been able to help you to understand how your wireless security policy and printing security software can help to protect your company’s sensitive data.
Of course, we know that you also want to learn more about how to find the right kind of printer or copier to suit the needs of your business and marketing strategies.
That’s where we come in.
From continuing to educate you and your team about how to keep what you print and copy secure to showing you the top models for printers and copiers, we have all the information you need.
No matter the industry you’re in or how many employees you have on your team, we’ll work together to make sure you find exactly what you’re looking for.