Security has long been atop the IT agenda. Customers demand it. Your business continuity depends on it. And it can greatly impact your bottom line if not implemented strategically.
But what are the main security focuses going into 2024? And what steps can you take to put your organization in the best position to protect precious customer and employee data in 2024 and beyond?
Vasion’s Principal Architect, Greg Smith, and Director of DevOps and Security, Justin Scott, sat down for a quick chat about Print Security Hacks for 2024 to share their knowledge on the best (and fastest) ways to achieve Zero Trust-caliber print management.
Watch the video below or read on for a short summary of the webinar.
What’s top of mind in 2024?
You’ve constantly been asked to “Do less with more” when it comes to your current infrastructure.
But that still isn’t enough.
In 2024, the ask is a lot greater: Implement airtight layers of security that protect confidential data and maintain industry compliance BUT don’t decrease productivity or inconvenience end users.
A long-winded ask…we know.
Justin and Greg highlighted the following key criteria that are top of mind for CIOs and IT Directors for their print environments in 2024 to help you meet security demands.
- Zero Trust: Verify every end user before they get access to print applications.
- Federated Authentication: Access all apps with just one password to increase productivity.
- Online Identity Providers (IdPs): Ensure secure access across all apps.
- Remediate Vulnerabilities: Update and patch existing hardware to keep attacks out.
- Reduce Attack Surfaces: Minimize infrastructure by removing underutilized printers and print servers.
- Maintain Compliance: Leverage solutions that comply with ISO and SOC security frameworks.
It’s possible to check these off your list rather quickly. However, there’s one piece of legacy hardware that needs to be addressed before you can optimize your print security in 2024: your print servers.
What do print servers ACTUALLY do?
Being the status quo for over 25 years, it’s easy to forget why we have print servers in the first place. They’re a messenger between a client and your printers that queue print jobs to ensure your hardware never gets overloaded.
Originally, servers were lauded for providing admins with centralized management, better print security, and improved print speeds. However, as businesses expanded, created new locations, and increased their print traffic, the immediate response for many IT pros was to put up more print servers to accommodate end users and equally disperse WAN traffic. Which, at the time, was a genius idea.
Print servers have withstood the test of time, until recently, that is. They’re the primary cause of print-related helpdesk tickets, and they’re pricey to maintain and replace every three to five years. In short, print servers could be costing you more money, time, and headaches than they’re really worth.
The security risks of print servers
Vulnerabilities exploited within print servers aren’t a secret.
In 2010, StuxNet, a powerful malware, revealed itself to the world by exploiting a vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service. Eleven years later, the PrintNightmare exploit allowed attackers to take control of a vulnerable system. Since PrintNightmare’s emergence in 2021, there have been over 65,000 attacks on Windows Print Spoolers, 31,000 of which happened in 2022.
So how do you ensure these attacks don’t happen to you?
Eliminate your print servers and get direct IP print management in the cloud.
Top questions to ask print vendors
So, you decided to move away from legacy print infrastructure and transition to a cloud-based print management solution. Naturally, you’re going to have a lot of questions about migration time, potential printer downtime, costs, and expected limitations you’d like to address—which are usually clearer after trying a demo with a new solution.
Greg and Justin crafted a list of questions you can ask vendors upfront before investing your time and effort in a proof of concept.
Conclusion
Implementing Greg and Justin’s print security hacks for 2024 doesn’t require you to search far and wide. PrinterLogic SaaS, our cloud-native direct IP print management solution, equips your organization with the features and functionality you need to print securely and protect your data for long-term success. PrinterLogic is ISO 27001:2013 and SOC 2 Type 2-certified and integrates with popular IdPs to authenticate all users before they print.
Visit our website for more information.
Or, schedule a free 30-day trial with one of our experts today.