HP Secure Printing - Keep Your Business Safe

No matter what industry, security is key. There is no doubt that at some level you have placed security measures protect your business from outside threats. This is particularly true of industries that deal with sensitive or confidential information. From your network to your server, security measures protect your data and HP Security Printing is one of these examples. That said, many companies forget how to print securely and assume that printers are not on the vulnerability list.

This is not the case and, when forgotten, major problems loom on the horizon.

Any internet-connected device with an IP address (typically most modern-day printers) can be used as a backdoor to a network. This can cause sites to collapse and create disastrous results. By being unattentive towards your printer security, you are literally leaving a gaping hole in your businesses vulnerability. However, it's not all doom and gloom for HP lovers with many advanced security features now available with upgraded HP pagewide printers.

Read on to find out more about HP secure printing and how it can protect your business from malicious hackers.

Printer Security Risks: The Real Truth

If your business is running a fleet of unprotected printers, you are at risk of a number of issues. These could be incredibly detrimental and even result in a significant financial loss for the company. Across a number of reports published by Ponemon Institute, some of the risks and costs of unprotected printing revealed that: 

• 60% of surveyed companies had data breaches involving printers.
• 73% of CISOs expect at least one major security breach each year.
• 64% of IT managers state their printers are likely to be infected with malware.
• The average cost of cybercrime such as this stands around $7.7million.

How HP secure printing summary.

In addition to this, IDC’s IT survey in 2015 revealed a list of potential print-related security breaches. These included; malicious threats, exposure of documents, unauthorised use and the company’s lack of ability to identify the culprits of such acts. With so many different things to consider when it comes to print security, HP has developed a number of secure printing solutions to help protect your business better than ever before.

Common printing vulnerability points have also been identified. The control panel is one such area, as users may be able to exploit the device settings. The storage media on printers could be at risk, as they may store sensitive information. The likes of abandoned or unclaimed documents could also fall into the wrong ha

How HP secure printing summary.

nds very easily. The network itself is an area of risk too, as jobs may be intercepted as they travel to or from a device.

How HP secure printing solutions protect you?

Implementing HP printing security does so much more than just protect your printers. Not only does it protect your printing device itself, but it can also help to secure your entire network. With features such as real-time threat detection and unique built-in software across all devices, there are so many options available that there’s really no excuse not to implement. HP has developed security measures in 3 main areas:

• Printer Device.
• Printer Data.
• Printed Documents.

The features of these areas include the ability to detect and self-heal from attacks automatically, or even stopping an attack as it happens. Thanks to HP, you can make sure that documents remain confidential and unclaimed prints don’t go amiss. Keep scrolling down to take a look at how HP secure printing can strengthen your printer devices and network.

1. HP JetAdvantage Security

When it comes to business, the more cost-effective and efficient, the better. HP JetAdvantage solutions can help improve productivity and drive down costs, helping employees - and your IT team - work more efficiently. When it comes to HP JetAdvantage security solutions, this feature is particularly clever. 

To help meet your security challenges, HP developed HP JetAdvantage Security Manager, a streamlined, policy-based approach to securing HP printing and imaging devices. With HP Security Manager, you can improve the security of your HP printing and imaging fleet before you experience the stress of a data breach. This helps protect your devices and the information that keeps your company running.

HP Security Manager offers a simple, intuitive process for securing your fleet. Users can efficiently deploy and monitor devices by applying a single security policy across the fleet and secure new HP devices as soon as they are added to your network with HP Instant-on Security. In addition this this, users can actively maintain and verify compliance with defined security policies using HP Security Manager’s automated monitoring and risk-based reporting. By relying upon the automatic deployment and updating of identity certificates that strengthen information security, this also significantly reduces administrative overheads.

2. HP SureStart Security.

HP SureStart is a new feature for HP Printers that automatically validates the printer’s BIOS. The BIOS for any computer device is a set of startup instructions used to load fundamental hardware components. Not only this, but the BIOS is also used within HP LaserJet Enterprise printers to initiate the HP FutureSmart firmware. Every time a printer is turned on or restarts with an error, HP SureStart validates the integrity of the BIOS by implementing a Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA–256). This algorithm is signed with HP’s digital signature to ensure that the printer is safeguarded from malicious attacks.

Should the validation fail, the printer will restart using a safe “Golden Copy” of the BIOS. The “Golden Copy” of the BIOS is stored in an electrically isolated location within the printer and is loaded during manufacturing. This will mean that even if you do not recognise an error yourself, the printer will protect you before any malicious user can attempt to attack your recently compromised system.

3. HP Whitelisting Security.

HP's whitelisting feature uses code-signing to make sure that only known HP firmware versions are loaded. When a malicious hacker compromises computer systems, they typically load their own firmware to have complete access. By whitelisting and validating the firmware, this HP secure printing feature ensures you are only operating with manufacturer-approved firmware.Typically, firmware coordinates hardware functions, runs the control panel, provides network security, and determines what features are available when printing, scanning, or sending emails. Whitelisting uses an HP digital signature to verify that only authentic HP code, solutions, and 3rd party solution files are authorized to be loaded into memory and operate the printer. If a file without an authentic HP digital signature is detected, the printer will not load the solutions file, will restart the printer, and will display the Preboot menu options on the control panel, thus preventing a potential malware exploit from executing.

4. Runtime Intrusion Detection

HP's whitelisting feature uses code-signing to make sure that only known HP firmware versions are loaded. When a malicious hacker compromises computer systems, they typically load their own firmware to have complete access. By whitelisting and validating the firmware, this HP secure printing feature ensures you are only operating with manufacturer-approved firmware.

Typically, firmware coordinates hardware functions which operate the control panel, provide network security, and determine what features are available when printing, scanning or sending emails. Whitelisting uses an HP digital signature to verify that only authentic HP code, solutions, and 3rd party solution files are authorized to be loaded into memory and operate the printer. If a file without an authentic HP digital signature is detected, the printer will not load the solutions file, will restart the printer, and will display the Preboot menu options on the control panel, thus preventing a potential malware exploit from executing.

How HP secure printing summary.

By upgrading your printing fleet to HP's latest security software and updates, the strength of your secure printing is immediately improved. HP is dedicated to improving printer security and has been heralded for deploying the most secure printers in modern-day. With all latest models typically delivered with this advanced built-in security, you can be sure to upgrade your own internal systems in an instant. If you wish to discuss more regarding HP security and how to secure your printing network, hit us up in the comments and we would be more than happy to help. Other than that, head on over to our store and browse through our large collection of HP and HP Enterprise Printers.