How to Secure an Office Printer

Printers are often forgotten in terms of security for an organization's network. Printers regularly utilize Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections to function properly with other devices within the office environment. Due to being connected to the internet, malicious attackers can gain access to these printers and cause damage to the target organization.

First Thing: Changing the default password.

The step-by-step process may vary depending on the name brand of the given printer and its model. This guide applies to printers manufactured by HP (Hewlett- Packard).

Many HP Printers can be managed through the name brand's provided mobile device application. HP created an app called HP Smart App. Within the app there will be steps to connect to the printer device.

1. After connecting to the printer
2. Click on printer settings.
3. Select 'Advanced Settings'
4. Select settings
5. Click on security. Once the page is loaded, the password settings will be displayed.
6. Select the password settings and change the password with updated password practices of at a minimum of total 12 characters with 2 special characters, 2 upper case and 2 lower case characters.

Additional Tips to Secure your Office's Printer

• Update and patches when possible
• Disable unnecessary services such as:
• Telnet
• HTTP
• FTP
• Use name brand ink cartridges.

All ink cartridges have a microchip that communicates with the printer's microprocessor to inject the ink into the printer. When using third-party printers, the security of the microprocessor may not be up to date compared to the name brand. If attackers discover this, they can exploit the third-party microprocessors to gain further access to the printer and the network itself.

• Manage Printer Access using:
• Low cost firewall to block public internet access to the device
• Configure the printer's access control list (ACL) to limit to set devices or subnet range
• Remove printer from internet access and only use local network segment