COMMENT
Keep it safe The global threat from cybercrime has been highlighted again with a high-profile hack, reinforcing the need for all elements of tech, including print and document scanning and transfer, to be made as secure as possible.
If any reminder was needed about the threat cybercriminals pose to business – and it wasn’t – it came with news that companies including the BBC, British Airways and Boots had been affected by a mass hack through payroll service provider Zellis. The attack originated in the US at Progress Software, which runs the MOVEit Transfer tool. MOVEit is designed to move files securely around the world and has most of its customers in the US. Hackers found a way to break into MOVEit and extract the data held within. A security update has been issued, but employees at the companies affected by the hack have nonetheless been warned that some of their sensitive data may have been stolen. It is thought that the hack was by a Russian group, but that hadn’t been confirmed as Print in the Channel went to press. While this attack affected large companies, small- to medium-sized businesses are subject to just as many threats – and the consequences can be much worse as they don’t always have the resilience or funds to be able to rebound from an attack. As more businesses digitalise their operations and increasingly use the cloud to store and transfer documents around the world, the threats are only going to increase – as is the need for ensuring those documents are kept safe. Hybrid working only increases the threats to business, with people working from multiple locations. Resellers have a vital role to play to ensure that customers have the right security protection for their documents. Read more on p32. Security must be a priority for all those involved in the print and document scanning sector, as it is for the wider IT services market. But the line between managed print and
IT services is diminishing and some print providers are moving more into IT services, to help boost revenues but also to serve growing demand from customers for a single tech provider. Read more on p28. Security of another kind – authenticity and tracking – is an increasing priority for businesses in a multitude of sectors, and secure labelling is helping to ensure that. RFID technology is popular for helping goods to be tracked at every point in the journey, especially high value ones. This is a growing sector and one that resellers should look to get involved in as there are a wide variety of sectors to target for this. Read more on p36. It all shows that whatever sector, and whatever size of business, the threats are there – but so are the security solutions and resellers can bring them to customers. As always, this issue is packed with features, and I hope you enjoy the issue. I always like to hear feedback on what is – or isn’t – covered in the magazine, so please drop me a line at dan@printinthechannel.com – likewise if you want to get involved in editorial in the future.
Dan Parton
CALLING ALL BRANDS
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