Security Insecurity and Your Network

By Gregory Pings, manager of Content Marketing for Xerox

In my own online life, I am very suspicious – some say paranoid – of what I click. In fact, I once deleted a Facebook notification to accept my mother’s friend request. “Facebooking” just didn’t sound like something Mom would do. Turned out she did, so I ended up friending her just in time for Mother’s Day.

Amusing misunderstandings aside, only a fool would let down his online guard. The rest of us worry about how to protect our networks, data, closely held trade secrets and anything that touches the digital realm – this list should include your printers.

Xerox bloggers understand this and have written often on this topic. Here, I review some of our top insights and provide links where you can learn more.

Hackers, printers and security threats

Your printer is basically a computer that is linked to your network. So, yes, hackers will try to enter your network through your printer. How to Prevent Hacking in Your Print Environment is the first of a three-part series on printer security in our Small Business Solutions blog. This article gives you three ways you can keep your information (and your business) safe.

The Hidden Threats in your Print Environment and How to Fix Them takes a look at three security threats (people, data breaches and unauthorized access to printers) and offers a link that will help you spot the security threats.

Slightly more than half of the companies surveyed in a Xerox-commissioned study reported that multifunction printers are included in their security strategies. (See table, above.) That means a little less than half do not. If that latter statement describes your business, take a look at Tips for Protecting Smart Printers from Today’s Security Threats.

Our Enterprise Matters blog points out that your printer is an indispensable tool in your battle against security risks. What to Know about Secure Printing presents 10 blog articles that will help you understand what you need to know about secure printing. It’s bookmark-worthy.

How to Secure Documents and the Devices that Print Them looks at the overlooked security threat: human error. This article from Xerox Connect includes a link to our “Document and Endpoint Security” ebook, which will help you make choices about your information security.

Learn more
Click these links to search for more security-related articles on these Xerox blogs:

At Your Service
Small Business Solutions
Enterprise Matters
Xerox Connect 
Read “Partners in Data Protection” on Xerox.com, which discusses different ways Xerox works with our customers to prevent data from getting into the wrong hands, inside and outside the work environment.*

Our bloggers have published much more about security, as well as many other topics that you grapple with in your business life – be it online or in-person. You can request email updates to any of our blogs so that you won’t ever miss a thing again. Enter your email address in the “Receive Updates” box, select the frequency of updates, then click “Subscribe.”

It’s easier than friending your mom.

*Updated November 30, 2017.