SMB PRINT SECUIRTY
Keeping it safe With cybercrime continuing to rise, making sure a printer fleet is fully secure is becoming increasingly vital for small- and medium-sized businesses. But with the threats ever-evolving, resellers need to help ensure their customers remain safe from the cybercriminals.
For small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), cybersecurity is now vital. No longer do cybercriminals set their sights on large businesses, they know that SMBs can also provide profitable opportunities. But for an SMB a cyberattack can be devastating in terms of lost revenue and reputation – in some cases, it has helped to lead to the demise of a business entirely. This means SMBs need to secure all their networked devices, including printers, to ensure the business is as secure as possible from cybercriminals. However, it seems that for many SMBs, printer security is still not – yet – a priority. “Quocirca’s SMB Attitudes to Print Security 2024 Report reveals that despite 63% of SMBs experiencing a costly print-related data breach in the past year, only 20% are concerned about print security,” says Louella Fernandes, CEO of Quocirca. “Despite clear risks, printers are often an afterthought where security is concerned. Only one in five SMB IT decision-maker respondents in our research said that office print infrastructure – including home-based printers – was a key security concern.” Louella notes that the focus tends to be on email and cloud or hybrid application platforms. “These were a concern for 31%
and 29% respectively,” she says. “It is likely that this view is reflected at owner/executive level, which means print risk remains largely unmanaged among SMBs. “This creates a significant opportunity for vendors and partners to plug the gap with strong security propositions across hardware, solutions, and services. “If resellers aren’t already offering it as part of managed print services they should consider doing so. Our research consistently indicates that customers want managed print services providers to offer security expertise.” Lemark’s CISO, Bryan Willett, adds that printer security is the same risk as IoT security in any organisation. “It is important to properly secure the device, whether it be for a network, home, small office, medium office or large office,” he says. “It begins with setting an administrative password, shutting off services that are not needed on that device, and patching the device on a regular cadence. These steps can go a long way in lowering the risk to the operating environment of any IoT device, including printers.” More than an afterthought Deyon Antoine, product marketing manager at Toshiba Tec, agrees that printer security is still often an afterthought for many SMB owners.
Louella Fernandes CEO
quocirca.com
Only one in five SMB IT “
decision-maker respondents in our research said that office print infrastructure – including home- based printers – was a key security concern.
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