How Secure Is Your Printer?

Now that we’re well beyond the initial teething stages of the internet, it’s fair to assume that everyone knows the importance of having good anti-virus and security installed on their computer. In a veritable Wild West-style dystopia of hackers, viruses and trojans, internet security is vital.

Note that we said internet security there, not computer security. You see, while people are more than aware that they need to install good security software on their home PC or laptop, a lot of people forget that a computer isn’t the only hardware from which you can access the internet.

Have you installed security software on your smartphone, for example? That pricey tablet you’ve just invested hundreds of pounds in? How about your printer?

Yes, your printer. Although the majority of lower end printer don’t boast internet connections, an increasing number of office printers (and some home printers) boast all the workings of a computer such as a hard drive and operating system coupled with internet connectivity. In short, an unprotected printer is a sitting duck for an unscrupulous hacker.

But what exactly can a hacker do with a printer? Print lots of documents and waste your ink cartridges? Well, there is that and it’s a bigger issue than you might think - even if you use Cartridge World’s remanufactured toner cartridges, the cost of replacing wasted ink or toner is still high.

But there are some even more worrying implications for a hacked printer. Remember that hard drive we mentioned before? That can store all the documents you send to the printer. If someone was able to access those documents externally and you happened to have just printed off your company account details...well, you can see the issue.

Hackers can also lock up a printer entirely, making it impossible to use and thus reducing your overall office productivity.

Get Protected

The specifics of how a hacker could access a printer are far too complex to cover in a single blog post but there a number of ways you can make your printer less susceptible to a hack attack.

Protecting your printing network with a password is a good place to start. A great deal of connected printers come with stock credentials and these are often never changed, making accessing the network a doddle for a hacker. As you would with a normal password, come up with something unique and hard to guess.
Encryption is another important weapon in the printer protection arsenal. Ensure that you only access the admin settings for your printer network through an encrypted connection. If possible, try and encrypt the connection between the printer and computers in order to stop print jobs being intercepted. Your printer should also be protected by a firewall.

The final step in basic printer security is the simplest; make sure your printer is updated with the latest firmware and updates from the manufacturer. It’s easy to close those pesky update notices but quite often updates contain vital patches of security loopholes. These security loopholes on the part of the printer manufacturer are more common than you might think too; a flaw in Samsung printers was revealed just a couple of weeks ago.

On the whole, printer security isn’t something the average home user needs to worry about. However, as network connectivity and data storage becomes integrated in lower-cost hardware, it’s worth keeping in mind. For high-end business users, it’s worth testing the security of your printer and ensuring that everything is up-to-scratch; although printer hacking is thankfully rare, it can still be devastating.

Image credit: Marcos Mayer