AI IN PRINTER SECURITY
Combatting new threats AI is increasingly being used by cybercriminals to target businesses, and printers are no exception – and this is something customers and resellers need to be alive to if they want to ensure security is not breached.
Threats to printer security have been rising for years as they have been increasingly networked, but the advent of AI has meant that those threats are growing more than ever, putting businesses in greater danger. “AI is significantly making attacks against printers and MFPs faster, more targeted and easier to scale,” Rick Dove, pre-sales technical specialist at Epson UK. “Where attacks once relied on broad scanning and manual exploitation, AI now enables automated reconnaissance and therefore achieving more effective evasion of security controls. This not only lowers the skill barrier for attackers but also increases the likelihood of successful compromise. “Common threats include AI-driven phishing that convincingly mimics printer emails or scan notifications, intelligent credential-stuffing attacks on printer admin interfaces, and automated vulnerability scanning based on firmware versions and known CVEs. “More advanced scenarios include
spoofed devices that impersonate trusted printers or malicious firmware designed to maintain long-term persistence within a print environment — allowing attackers to compromise confidential data undetected.” Graham Foxwell, product marketing lead at Kyocera Document Solutions UK, adds that AI is accelerating the misuse of known weaknesses, unpatched firmware, default credentials and open ports. “Attackers can pivot through MFPs as IoT endpoints to harvest documents or move laterally,” he explains. “Our stance is simple: harden the device, enforce identity at the panel, and encrypt everything in transit and at rest. “While attackers are unlikely to publicly label their campaigns as ‘AI generated’, our customers and partners are seeing more automated probes against print endpoints as part of broader intrusions. That’s why we prioritise secure configuration, timely firmware updates, and centralised monitoring across the fleet.”
Rick Dove pre-sales technical specialist
epson.co.uk
Where attacks once relied on broad scanning and manual exploitation, AI now enables automated reconnaissance and therefore achieving more effective evasion of security controls. “ ”
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