Printing Security – The ‘Forgotten Link’ In Operational Excellence

11/03/2010

By Howard Roberts, Technology Consulting and Solutions Manager, Managed Enterprise Services, HP IPG

Mention security to most small to medium sizrd businesses (SMB) owners, management or decision makers and many will automatically think of physical security breaches, or electronic security issues in the office or network.

However, as the list of embarrassing and litigious security breaches brought about by the misappropriation of printed materials grows, companies of all sizes should take more note of the power of the written word.

When a print-based breach occurs, it can often be more devastating than an electronic one which can...

...be monitored and controlled remotely or through a network. Once confidential or sensitive material has leaked in physical form, the ability to effectively track it and remove it from circulation is hugely impaired, and the fact that such material can of course then be re-digitised and circulated only adds to the threat.

Despite this, print is often overlooked, and could be considered the 'forgotten link' in the security chain, and not an immediate priority for those responsible for operational and corporate excellence.

In order to avoid being compromised, here are some considerations which can address the core issues, and hopefully protect your organisation from falling prey to embarrassing, or damaging security breaches.


1. Understand the risks

It is critical to understand what could make your print environment an attractive target for security attacks on your IT environment; for example, what potentially compromising documents could be retrieved from the output paper tray or recycling bin? It's worth conducting a full audit of print behavior throughout your organisation, so risks are understood very carefully.


2. Understand the operational, commercial and legal aspects of security

Make sure that the security strategy covers not only the technical aspects of how your organisation carries out business, but is... continued on page two >

 

 

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