According to the Denver Post, 60 percent of small businesses that experience a cyber attack will close their doors within six months. This statistic alone should be a wake-up call to any business owner who doesn’t view cybersecurity as a priority. However, protecting your copiers, printers and data can be difficult without the assistance of an experienced IT professional.
Hackers are getting bolder and are finding new ways to access the sensitive data small businesses possess. Falling behind the times in regards to the data-security measures you have in place can lead to a huge disaster. Here are some of the things you can do to offer more protection to your copiers, printers and data.
Securing Your Ports
Most cybersecurity companies will offer their clients information regarding what type of cyber attacks are popular at the moment and how hackers are gaining access to various networks. In most cases, these attacks will use a variety of printer ports to access a company’s network.
Many of the printers and copiers used by small businesses have unsecured ports. Instead of giving hackers an open door into your network, finding a way to secure these ports is a must. The best way to secure this printer and copier ports is to shut them down or close them off when they are not being used.
Destroy Old Hard Drives
Did you realize that most copiers have hard drives in them? The hard drives in a copier store things like the details of various print jobs and a lot of other sensitive information. When it is time to dispose of an old copier, leaving this hard drive in place can be very dangerous.
Having these hard drives wiped clean or destroyed by an IT professional is your best course of action. By doing this, you can avoid having sensitive information fall into the hands of a hacker.
Lockdown Printers and Copiers
Are you trying to increase the level of internal security your company has? Locking down your printers and copiers is a great way to accomplish this heightened level of security. Requiring employees to authenticate their identity before using a device will allow you to keep a detailed record of all of the activity on your network.
If anything nefarious is going on under the roof of your workspace, you should be able to find out about it quickly and deal with it. Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases where employees sold off a company’s sensitive information to the highest bidder on the black market. Safeguarding your company from this type of activity should be a priority.
Implement the Right Security Solutions
There are a lot of security solutions on the market specifically designed for imaging devices like printers and copiers. This specially designed software will monitor the devices you have on your network and alert you to any issues that may be present.
Use a Managed Printer Service
The best way to take the work out of managing a fleet of printers and copiers is by hiring a managed print service. With this type of professional help, you can reduce the cost of printing and improve the efficiency of the machines you have in place. Most managed print services will assess the condition of your existing equipment to see if it needs to be replaced.
Do you need help with managing your printers and copiers? Contact Monster Technology today to find out more about the managed print services they can provide.