As more and more companies experience crippling security breaches, the wave of compromised data is on the rise. Data breach statistics show that hackers are highly motivated by money to acquire data and that personal information is a highly valued type of data to compromise. It is also apparent that companies are still not prepared enough for breaches even though they are becoming more commonplace. 

Always remember ‘best practices’ is to be proactive, rather than reactive. Now that so many companies are using cloud platforms with a secure system that integrates appropriately with the enterprise network, it is essential to remember that there are all levels of security and privacy required for any given solution and design of the deployment. 

A key element is a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN is a private network that encrypts and transmits data while it travels from one place to another on the internet. VPNs aren’t just for desktops or laptops. You can set up a VPN on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. Customers with existing cloud infrastructure (e.g., for document management) may already have a suitable VPN set-up. Still, customers contemplating their first cloud deployment may need assistance in understanding why they need a VPN and how to specify it. 

There is a story about 150,000 printers being hijacked in the UK. 

Unfortunately, this one was not a joke, as many offices discovered early last year (read more from the BBC in “Hacker briefly hijacks insecure printers“). Cases like these highlight the increasing importance of printing security. After all, printing is a business-critical function, which handles sensitive information. 

PaperCut’s heritage is in education, a strict security environment (students do like to hack!), and security has always been a core value. 

With 2,013 confirmed data breaches in 2019, there are many factors to consider when preparing for and managing a data breach. Specifically, the time it takes to respond to a data breach and the reputational impact it can have on an organization. The IoT is where printers and MFPs exist today, with a more dispersed and independent workforce, there is a need to embrace cloud-based solutions which include print management.   

The future calls for being prepared so that your customers can thrive. Download your copy of PaperCut’s Security Whitepaper.