Bet you never thought twice about the many documents that you are sending to your office machine every day. Well, in a recent blog post, we alerted our readers to the fact that your copier is actually storing every document that it processes on a hard drive. This obviously poses a great security risk to your business, as all your confidential information can be accessed by malicious parties.

But that’s not it. Because today’s office machines operate almost like a computer with features such as data storage, operating systems, CPUs and, in particular, networking, they are vulnerable to a host of other security risks too:

Default Passwords: A default password for all administrative accounts means that everyone has access to everything. Using the same standard password on your copier means that all stored data is available to view and configure, both locally and remotely.

Unencrypted Data: Every document that is scanned, copied, printed or faxed is stored on the hard drive of your machine and is therefore vulnerable to be captured. All sensitive paperwork that is not encrypted can be accessed and exploited.

Outdated Operating Systems: As with any computing device, if the software is not updated regularly, it is possible for others to take control of the device remotely and access the stored data on your machine.

Maintenance Personnel: Be aware that every time your machine is serviced, you are giving access to those working on your machine.

Disposing Of Your Machine: Whether you sell on your device, or you send it for refurbishing or warehousing, all the data stored on the hard drive of your copier remains accessible for use and exploitation.

If these don’t scare you, read on to see how your machine can be made unavailable to you if you do not take the necessary precautions:

Unauthorized Use: If not configured properly, your office machine will process any job that is submitted to it, regardless of the origin or lack of authorization. This can result in a waste of paper, toner and ink.

Denial Of Service (DoS): Without proper protection, your office machine is vulnerable to a DoS attack – a malicious attempt to make your device unavailable to you.

Alteration Of Passwords Or Settings: If an unauthorized user accesses your machine and alters the passwords, you will be blocked from using your own device.

Security breaches are expensive in regard to both business finances and reputation. It is your responsibility to ensure that your machine is not compromised in any way.

Want to learn how? Stay tuned for our blog post on how to protect your copier.