July 29, 2024
Watch out – Quocira’s annual report on the state of print security is out, and it is a stark reminder of the work network administrators have yet to do to secure their fleets from risks including ransomware.
Key Stats From Quocirca’s Print Security Landscape 2023
Quocirca’s 2023 report includes the viewpoints and experiences of 507 IT decision-makers throughout the US and Europe. Here are the heavy hitters for the year:
- Security breaches increased for 61% of organizations in the past year
- 39% of respondents say print security is becoming harder
- 19% of respondents are completely confident in the security of their print infrastructure
- In the past 12 months, 61% of organizations experienced data losses due to unsecured printing practices
- Only 27% of the organizations studied can be classed as print security leaders
- Less than one-third (32%) are very satisfied with their print supplier’s security capabilities
The Good News About Print-Related Data Losses
Believe it or not, the fact that 61% of organizations experienced data loss from unsecured printing is actually an improvement. In 2022, it was 68%.
Larger organizations are also doing a little better this year than their smaller peers (57%), and the public sector got its data loss numbers down to 49%.
Given these results are based on self-reporting questionnaires, at minimum, we can surmise the perception within organizations is improving.
Challenges to Managing Print Infrastructure Security
The report explored a number of specific challenges and evolutions of the way in which our organizations and users print. A few to highlight and watch out for include:
Print Security Challenge #1: Hybrid Work
One of the top print security challenges survey respondents said they experienced involved home printing, including workers not disposing of sensitive information securely when working remotely.
How do users print from home? What type of sensitive material do they need to print? How are those documents disposed of? There shouldn’t be any doubt about the answers to any of those questions.
When it comes to enforcing print policies and active controls implementing acceptable use standards, we recommend organizations turn to technical controls implemented through sophisticated print software. However, even with these tools, remote work makes it challenging to ensure that their implementation and configuration are sufficient to meet your internal control objectives
Print Security Challenge #2: Providers’ Capabilities
A good deal of organizations said they used either a managed print services (MPS) provider or a managed security services provider (MSSP) to help them secure their print environment. But overall, less than a third said they were satisfied with the provider’s security capabilities.
US-based providers seem to be doing a bit better, with a security satisfaction rating of 50%. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that German organizations are getting anything like the services they need — only 17% are satisfied with the print security services they’re getting.
What could these services be? At a minimum, they should include hardening of devices at setup, securely sanitizing equipment at disposal, and supporting active patch management programs to limit the risk of vulnerabilities being discovered within the devices’ software (i.e. firmware). Some of these controls can be outsourced to a trusted provider, but every organization is responsible for both ensuring their proper implementation, but also auditing their operating effectiveness.
Why Aren’t Managed Print Services (MPS) Providers Doing More?
There are a few things that have made it difficult for many MPS providers to do better. Print security is a specialized skill, and without a dedicated print security team, it’s hard for providers to keep on top of evolving threats. It’s also pretty hard to maintain a specialized print security team when you’re a small provider. And it’s even harder to become a larger provider as businesses are cutting back on printing.
Don’t get me wrong — cutting back on print costs is a good thing. I’m all for it! But this is why many small to midsize providers haven’t been able to step up to the plate. Some larger providers are able to offer some print security services, but those services will come with an additional fee.
Finding a Security-First Provider
Oh hey! Good news — that’s us!
At Marco, we’re often asked to explain how we were able to respond so quickly in 2020 when many businesses were required to work remotely. Our clients had already been asking us to help them secure remote work, and we took note of exactly what they wanted and what their pain points were. When the pandemic happened, we were able to make the transition fairly seamless for every organization in need of expediting its own security-minded, remote work journey.
For print specifically, it was a boon to our efforts that we had already made the decision to provide print security services at no additional charge for all of our managed print services clients. As a large national provider, we have the economies of scale to offer elevated service. But more than that, we just thought it was the right thing to do.
Click the link below to learn more about our services and get a quick online quote! 
