MELVILLE, N.Y. – With recent high profile cyber-crimes in the retail, healthcare and telecommunications industries, now more than ever, it is the time to assess potential security risks, including your large format printer. Canon recognizes the serious financial and legal ramifications of print-related data breaches, and now provides even greater security options on its new line of Océ PlotWave 345, 365, 450, and 550 technical document printers. Don't let outdated large format printers leave you potentially vulnerable to cyber-attacks and confidential document data breaches.

Canon Solutions America, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., offers a strategy for how companies can address common security risks that can be found within today’s large format printing environments.

Establish a Secure Large Format Printing Environment

Security vulnerabilities, if exploited, can have a negative impact on your business. So it is essential to select a partner that advises you how to take preventative measures to minimize potential threats and establish a secure environment for large format printing, scanning and copying. When selecting a large format printing system, it is important to address the following key areas.         

1. SECURE CONTROLLER

If printer settings and controls are not secure, someone could intentionally or unintentionally change the settings on the printer, send print jobs somewhere else or infiltrate your network. To prevent this, controllers and customer networks must be protected from the risk of using the controller as a conduit for security threats. Therefore, it is critical to safeguard the system architecture of the controller to prevent changes to settings and ensure that the system is used only for its intended purposes, while at the same time preventing access by unauthorized persons or devices.

2. SAFEGUARD THE NETWORK

In a printing environment, security risks can be present when printers are connected to the network. Look for measures to reinforce network security to prevent unauthorized access and hacking of print files and infection of the controller. 

3. SAFEGUARD USER DATA

Take measures to protect user data from being altered or copied at each point in the workflow – during network transfer as well as on the device itself. Encryption mechanisms and security protocols can help guarantee data confidentiality and integrity in the network communication between the controller and other devices. Once data has been transferred to the controller, embedded mechanisms can encrypt the data to prevent any unauthorized user from accessing, while e-shredding allows the system to overwrite any user print/copy/scan data to prevent unauthorized data recovery.

4. SAFEGUARD DATA PRIVACY

User authentication options further protect sensitive print jobs and information from unauthorized access by granting only the owner of the job access. When user authentication is enabled, documents are not printed until the job owner authenticates at the system user panel and releases them for printing. Different methods can be used for user authentication, including requiring a username and password or a smart card.

5. SAFEGUARD MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT

Even with these preventive security methods in place, additional measures can be taken to protect products after they have been installed. Canon Solutions America has a process to keep track of vulnerabilities and provide new releases with updates and patches when necessary, and to ensure that the serviceability of the products is secure. 

As the level of risk in today’s digital work environment has increased, so too should your level of focus on security. And the above recommendations can help you establish a secure environment for printing, scanning and copying with your large format products. 

Canon Solutions America’s large format printing systems are designed to meet high security standards and help reduce the risk of any security vulnerability. Our active involvement with customers, government agencies and security organizations enables us to identify and address new security threats in a timely manner as they arise. Due to these measures, you can be confident that Canon’s Océ printing systems contribute to a safe and secure IT environment.

To learn more, please download Canon Solutions America’s “Optimizing Security: Safeguard Your Printing Environment” white paper.