Network Printers are so commonly used that they are no longer considered computing accessories but more as office appliances. At first thought, applying security to network printers may seem superfluous and unnecessary. But Printers today are complex network devices that require careful consideration regarding security.
Any device that is placed on a network must be evaluated with respect to security. Can the device be protected from access violations? What are the security considerations for the data and information routed to the device? Does the device expose the network to any form of vulnerability? These and many other questions are appropriate to ask of any networked device, including networked printers.
Fortunately todays networked printers are capable of being configured with the security issues in consideration and the following measures are available to improve security with using networked printers.
Network Password – Make sure that any configuration change to a networked printer can be done only by an authenticated user. This can be implemented through Domain settings or network settings.
Network security – Network security to configuring the printer can be implemented through https, SNMP V3, IPSec, 802.1x with appropriate authentication (for wireless),
Restricting Access to Operator console on printer – Many printers have the capability to restrict changes being made through printer operator console. This can be done by enforcing a PIN on the operator console.
Device Hardening – It is critical to harden printer devices through port filtering and TCP connection filtering.
Hard drive encryption – This may sound weird, but the truth is that printers have built in memory as well as a buffer memory to queue print jobs and process them subsequently. It is possible to penetrate these devices and obtain data. Network printers have the ability to encrypt the data in the hard disks as well as buffer memory which should be activated.
Secure Printing – The Secure Print feature addresses the basic concern of printed pages lying on the printer for anyone to pick up. With Secure Print, the printer holds submitted jobs until the intended recipient is present at the device. By producing the printed job only when the proper PIN code is entered on the printer’s operator panel, the job is delivered securely into the right hands. Printers can also be configured to cancel jobs if PIN retries exceed specified number of times.
At the end of the day, what requires realization is that information leakage does not necessarily mean an hacking attempt into a desktop or server. Even a mundane network printer can be the primary source of information leakage.