No company would ever allow a PC to tap into its network without the security software to keep hackers from infiltrating. And yet, the network-connected office printer is often overlooked when it comes to security. In fact, more than a quarter of all significant data breaches reported by IT managers involved printers, according to market research firm IDC.

Recognizing that vulnerability, HP is deploying a suite of new security features and services, along with army of highly-trained cybersecurity experts, to secure networks at the printer level.

"IT departments don't think printers are being targeted, but they wouldn't know it if they were,"

"A printer, just like a PC, is an endpoint on the network. Hackers can access printers almost easier than PCs because IT has underestimated their vulnerabilities."

Cindy Dwyer, manager, worldwide print security marketing at HP.

HP has redesigned its Secure Managed Print Services (MPS) offering to ensure that corporate print environments are protected from cyberattacks. Companies who subscribe to MPS already benefit from the cost savings and efficiencies of outsourcing the maintenance of their printer fleets to HP or a channel partner. Adding security to that list of benefits just made sense.

"Secure MPS is a natural extension of what we can do to help them as we are servicing and managing their printer fleets," Dwyer said. "We are infusing security into every aspect of HP MPS."

Wide-open ports and protocols

While shoring up the network-connected infrastructure that hangs behind company firewalls can go a long way, IT departments often don't have the resources to do that for printers, Dwyer said. Since printers are shipped with open ports and protocols to help IT departments get printers up and running quickly, the lack of configuration makes printers especially vulnerable.

To reduce attack surfaces, HP is starting to ship printers with less-secure interfaces closed, requiring customers to open the ports and protocols if they are needed when deploying new printers on their networks. In addition, HP is actively working with software developers to modify their applications to use newer, stronger interfaces so that we can close more interfaces over time.

Trained cybersecurity experts

As part of its reinvention of its HP Secure MPS offerings, the company is also introducing new professional services to help companies overcome resource challenges and improve the security of their print fleet. Part of the effort involves innovative tools, such as HP JetAdvantage Security Manager, which automates the process of securing and maintaining printer interfaces and other settings, plus enables HP printers to be connected to network-wide monitoring tools that scan for and enable forensics for attacks.

At the same time, HP Secure MPS teams are also helping customers improve security with a number of changes in HP's processes and offerings, from our security trained staff to execute security controls such as device hardening, maintenance, and data encryption to intensive audits and workshops with IT staff to develop and execute preventative plans.

The end-to-end Secure MPS offering now includes:

• Remote Management Services, reducing the time burden and costs for IT departments to manage critically important security controls.
• HP Print Security Governance & Compliance Service, where HP trained experts can monitor the print fleet for potential issues.
• HP Print Security Implementation Service, where HP technical support will deploy print security plans.
• HP Print Security Retainer Service, which provides on-going access to HP credentialed security advisors who evaluate security plans on a regular basis.

For more information about HP's Managed Print Services and Secure Managed Print Services offerings, go here.