Organizations invest time and money into securing their technology and gadgets, but they frequently ignore one important piece of hardware: printers. Printers, like computers and Wi-Fi networks, can serve as a point of entry for hackers and a portal to your company’s important data. Here’s all you need to know about protecting your printers.
What makes commercial printers vulnerable to cybercrime?
Companies prioritize servers and PCs when assessing network security concerns, not only because they are the most vulnerable to external threats, but also because they are the targets of the majority of cyberattacks. Because printers are not top targets, they are frequently at the bottom of the list. Furthermore, because they do not communicate with external systems, their functions appear to be internal at first appearance.
Print machines, on the other hand, are ideal targets for cybercriminals because of their core operations, notably printing and scanning. Businesses use print devices to store vital papers like tax forms, employee information, medical data, and financial statements, and hackers would love to get their hands on them. They certainly can with ease.
Previous print jobs, even ones that have been cancelled, are stored on the hard disk of network printers. By hacking into the printer with a specific tool, anyone with access to the printer even remotely may be able to see those papers.
Because modern printers can now be connected to the internet, files can also be intercepted during wireless transfer. Hackers can not only use open network ports on printers to access data, but they can also take control insecure printers and send their own data over them.
How to secure your printer.
Fortunately, there are a few basic actions you can take to protect your printer from potential assaults. Here’s how to do it.
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Set a limit on or turn off network printing.
Leaving an unsecured printer connected to your home or workplace network is like to leaving your room or office door unlocked. As a result, go over anything that involves printing over the internet and disable it. This includes setting up your network settings so that your printer only responds to commands sent through your router.
This can be done in a variety of ways, depending on your printer model:
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- By pressing the Wi-Fi button on the printer, you can connect to the internet.
- Using the printer’s control panel, locate and disable the wireless printing setting.
- Changing your Windows registry settings to prevent printing over HTTP (advanced users only)
- Also, remember to turn off your printer when you’re not using it; attackers won’t be able to access your network if there’s no connection.
HOW TO SECURE YOUR PRINTER
2. Keep your printer ports safe.
Hackers will most likely gain access to your printer using unsecure connections. This implies you should only enable printing protocols that you want to utilize. For example, the IPPS protocol over SSL port 443, which is the standard protocol for secure printing on modern printers, should be left open.
AppleTalk, Telnet, FTP, and SNMP are all optional, unneeded, and rarely used protocols and services that should be switched off to protect your network from potential assaults.
You should disable the following network ports if you aren’t utilizing them:
- Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) on port 631, ports 515, 721-731, and 9100
- The SMB (Server Message Block) protocol should also be turned off.
- Do you have no idea how to turn off these ports? To learn how, consult the user manual for your router.
3. Make use of a firewall
This should go without saying, but you will undoubtedly require a safe and dependable firewall. If you’re using Windows, your operating system already has a firewall installed; just make sure it’s turned on at all times. It will safeguard unused protocols that could allow hackers to access your printer remotely from outside the network.
However, if you want more advanced security, you may need to invest in a specialist firewall.
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4. Make sure your printer’s firmware is up to current.
Printer makers address known vulnerabilities in the firmware for the devices they build on a regular basis, so make sure your printer is always up to date in terms of security. Closing any known security flaws with the most recent firmware version can help you prevent the majority of common network printer problems.
If you use a printer at home, keeping your firmware up to date is even more vital, as most business-class printing machines include additional security protections that home printers lack.
Set a recurring reminder to check for updates on your calendar app once every couple of months or so if you’re as forgetful as we are.
5. You can change your printers’ credentials to a more secured one.
Most printers are connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, allowing them to be accessed remotely via a password. Most printers, on the other hand, have default administrator identities and passwords, which hackers can simply find and use to obtain access.
If you haven’t already, set the default password for your printer. You should be able to find this option in your printer’s utility settings. Instead of using a password, try establishing a long, strong, and unique password that will be difficult to crack. You can also use our one-of-a-kind password generator to create strong, nearly impossible-to-crack passwords.
Finally, make sure that printing always requires log on credentials reference your printer’s handbook for instructions on how to do this.
Conclusion:
One of the best ways to keep your business running is to keep your printer safe. You can keep your office printers safe by following the steps outlined above. Subscribing to this blog will keep you updated. Also, please like and share the articles to assist someone stay safe.
