Financial services firms are typically entrusted with information that is personally identifiable and highly valuable, elements that make these businesses particularly attractive to cybercriminals.
With all the sensitive and confidential data handled by these firms, it is no surprise that this industry falls under some of the strictest levels of regulation when it comes to data and information processing.
Just a few of the regulations that affect them include:
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
- Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
- Basel III
As regulations continue to evolve — and data breaches become more prevalent —financial firms must take significant precautions to stay compliant. And, when you realize that 75% of all data breaches in the finance industry were caused by malware and hacking, the stakes become even higher.
To stay safe and compliant financial services businesses must adopt proactive security protocols that can secure all endpoints — down to and including — the office printer.
Why Financial Firms Must Focus on Printer Security
Financial firms are a favorite target of hackers, they are bound to compliance with many data-protection regulations, and hackers are beginning to look at office printers as the “weak link” to gain easy access.
In fact, a recent experimental hack of 28,000 printers by researchers illustrated just how simple it is to gain access to data through this innocuous office device.
And, as more firms allow employees to work from home as the coronavirus pandemic continues to remain a health issue, printer security is an even greater concern.
Fortunately, there are a number of strategies financial firms can employ to keep printers — and data — protected.
- Know Your Print Infrastructure
It may seem difficult to believe, but many companies are unaware of their print infrastructure — that is, which departments or individuals have access to which printers.
While having a large number of printers might appear to be convenient and contribute to increased productivity, it can also put data at risk if those printers are not appropriately secured.
- Add Layers of Security
Adding security to printers helps keep data from being printed by unauthorized personnel or collected at the output tray by unauthorized personnel.
Using secure printing, users must swipe a card, use a biometric control, or input a PIN code to retrieve a print job from the printer. If the job is not retrieved using the access control, the document stays in the printer’s queue, out of the reach of unauthorized individuals.
- Protect Data in Transit
Print jobs can also be intercepted by hackers as they move from the computer to a printer. To address this, financial firms can encrypt each print job to protect data on its journey to the print device.
Once it is stored in the printer, the information can be further encrypted so that even documents waiting in the queue are protected. If a job remains in the queue after a specific timeframe — say, 24 hours — an auto-delete setting can be deployed to permanently remove sensitive data.
Finally, remote monitoring for suspicious activity is a critical element of any smart data protection strategy. Today’s managed print programs typically allow for continuous remote monitoring performed as a background activity, so work is not disrupted or slowed.
James Imaging Has the Secure Printers and Print Technology You Need
In today’s world of escalating cybercrime, protecting sensitive data at all endpoints — including your office printer — is a critical element of compliance and data safety.
At James Imaging, we not only provide programs such as print and document management that increase data security across the board through access controls, remote monitoring, and protected mobile printing — we also have printers and copiers outfitted with the latest state-of-the-art security.
We partner with leaders in the print industry such as HP, Toshiba, Lexmark, and Konica Minolta to bring you the highest level of print security possible.
Knowing your — and your clients’ — sensitive data is protected by award-winning security can give you peace of mind and help your firm stay compliant with an ever-increasing variety of data privacy regulations.
Keep your sensitive financial data safe and secure. Reach out to a professional at James Imaging Systems and explore our selection of secure print devices and our print and document management solutions.