Nine Tenths of Employees Unaware of Printer Security Threats

Nine Tenths of Employees Unaware of Printer Security Threats

According to a pan-European survey conducted by Sharp Europe, cybersecurity attacks remained a significant printer threat in Europe due to the lack of systematic training for employees.

The survey covered 11,000 employees and found out that despite the proliferation of cyber attacks related to printers, only 15% of them have received specific training on printer security. Quite a quantity of businesses are not attaching sufficient attention to the security of their printers and multifunctional printers (MFPs), exposing leaks to lurking data breaches and cyberattacks. More shockingly, 38% European businesses surveyed do not have counter-attack IT measures of any kind to protect their printing terminals.

The shift to hybrid or remote work style adds further uncertainty to printer security. Not being in a professional office setting, employees tend to foster poor printing habits, which poses great printer threats. A concerning 30% admit to printing files from home on office printers via email, and 23% have printed files that were downloaded from unknown websites without security guarantee. Worse still, a stark 84% are obvious that leaving print-outs in MFP output trays can present a tremendous cybersecurity threat.

Lack of awareness is another alarming factor that is responsible for this dilemma. Most employees surveyed deem MFPs as innocuous office devices, and only 10% recognize that they can be a great threat to data security in the office. This finding highlights the absence of corporate participation in terms of identifying cyber vulnerabilities and preparing respective approaches.

Roland Singer, Vice President of IT Services at Sharp Europe, commented: “Printers are often overlooked in a business by those that use them daily as posing no cyber threat, so they can be a prime opportunity for cybercriminals. Our findings highlight the critical need for businesses to secure all office devices, including printers, and ensure that employees are adequately trained to recognise the risks and prevent attacks. In today’s cyber landscape, securing printers must be an essential part of a comprehensive IT security strategy.”

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