How HP Is Tackling Printer Security

Constantly leading the way in delivering productive office tools, HP is tackling printer security concerns head-on. With the increased connectivity of devices, exploits are emerging faster and more sinister than ever before.

This means taking printer security seriously is a modern-day IT necessity. Printers have unfettered access to your network. They both send and receive information to connected workstations, making them the perfect backdoor to inject malware applications or viruses.

HP Leads the Way with New Printer Security Features

Multi-function Printers are often overlooked when designing the IT Security system. As part of their enterprise printer offerings, HP developed proprietary security solutions that cover every penetrable aspect of a document management network.

Printing, scanning, and copying are essential parts of any business. Enterprises know that the costs associated with these activities influence their bottom-line. When it’s time to budget for the printing solution, security concerns usually take a lower priority. Due to the increased risks, this needs to change, and HP is once again leading the way.

Encryption of Your Prints and Scans

Digital encryption ensures that data remains secure from one end to the other during the transfer of information over a network. Without the specific decryption key, nodes that pass along the data (including any malicious software they may have installed) cannot interpret the information. This keeps your data safe even when there’s a compromised node in your network.

HP Universal Print Driver encrypts files before sending them to the printer. Printing the document requires a user to enter a pin at the device. Securing sensitive documents in this way prevents uncontrolled access at the print station.

The HP Universal Print Driver is free, so anyone can benefit from the added security feature. It’s even better if you have an HP Enterprise printer as Encrypted Scan to Folder / Email options are also included guaranteeing no one has access to the data without authorization.

Malware Detection and Prevention

Malware is code that works just like any other software, meaning it can exist on any system that operates with a BIOS. The BIOS initiates device specific firmware to load during start-up, enabling the hardware components.

For that reason, printers are just as vulnerable to malware injections as any other system. In the past, hardware required you to flash firmware onto the device, making it stable and harder to infect. With today’s sophisticated devices, that’s no longer required. In fact, even the BIOS is vulnerable to altered code. Firmware now also requires patches (or updates) just like any other software, creating an opportunity to infect it.

HP Printers centralize control, validating every BIOS and Firmware program in the fleet. If it detects any malware, it automatically reverts to the correct conf

iguration. With single source security management, HP greatly reduces the time and cost of these administrative tasks.

HP Free Security Assessments

HP will provide you with a free security assessment, checking your current system configuration and comparing it to the best in class security policies. A technical consultant will advise you on where you fall short, and what the shortest way to become secure is.

HP Proprietary Security Software Suite

HP Takes care of the above by applying the following software solutions on your HP Enterprise printer fleet:

1. HP Sure Start

Sure, start checks the code when the printer boots up. If it detects any changes to the BIOS or Firmware, it powers down and restarts in safe mode using a “Golden Copy” of the BIOS.

2. HP Whitelisting

By whitelisting the drivers and firmware installed on the printer, HP ensures the only valid code runs in the background. If it detects any altered code, the printer restarts in offline mode and notifies the IT Department.

3. HP Run-Time Intrusion Detection

During run-time, HP monitors the device memory for any anomalous behavior. It if finds any issues, it will reboot and restore the original, safe firmware.

4. HP Connection Inspector

The HP Connection Inspector monitors all network activity from the printer and establishes a baseline of normal behavior. Using that baseline, it can detect any suspicious network connection requests and block them. This prevents malware from calling home.

HP Enterprise Printing Solutions Provide a Safer Network

If you are concerned with the current security level of your print network, let Office Technologies assist you in determining your exposure. As a technology partner of HP, we provide you with expert analysis and advice while considering the cost pain points. Solutions range from hardware to network analysis and managed services.

The best time to take your printing network security seriously was yesterday. The second-best time is now. Send us a message online or call us at (610) 326-4700.