Most Utah business owners have locked down their laptops, firewalled their servers, and trained staff on phishing — then left a $15,000 networked printer sitting on the same network with its factory password still set. Hackers know this. Do you?
The modern office printer is no longer a simple machine that takes a file and puts ink on paper. Today’s multifunction devices — copiers, printers, MFPs — run full operating systems, store documents on internal hard drives, connect to your Wi-Fi, and communicate with every device on your network. They are, in every meaningful sense, computers.
And like any computer on your network, they can be compromised. According to the Ponemon Institute, 60% of companies experienced a print-related data breach in a recent two-year period. Yet printer security consistently lands at the bottom of IT audit checklists. Here are the five gaps we see most often — and what to do about each one.
What Your Printer Is Silently Exposing Right Now
You’re Still Running the Factory Default Password
Every major printer brand ships devices with a publicly documented default admin password — listed on manufacturer websites, in Reddit threads, and in attacker playbooks. If your device hasn’t been reconfigured, anyone on your network can log into the admin panel, export stored documents, or pivot deeper into your infrastructure.
Fix it: Change admin credentials on every networked device immediately. This takes ten minutes and closes one of the most exploited attack vectors in SMB environments.
Every Document You’ve Ever Printed Is Still on the Hard Drive
Modern MFPs cache every document that passes through them — print jobs, scans, faxes, copies. A patient intake form. The payroll spreadsheet. The NDA your attorney sent. All sitting on a drive that most people never think about. When you sell or lease-return a device, that data goes with it.
Fix it: Enable automatic hard drive overwrite. Before any device leaves your control, perform a certified data wipe. ABT includes secure data destruction in all our device retirement processes.
Your Print Jobs Travel the Network Unencrypted
When you hit Print, that job travels across your network unencrypted in most environments. Anyone with access to network traffic — a rogue employee, someone on your guest Wi-Fi — can intercept and read jobs in transit. For HIPAA or legal compliance, this is a violation waiting to happen.
Fix it: Require encrypted print protocols (IPP over TLS) on every device. Segment your printer network from guest Wi-Fi. A Managed Print Services audit will identify every device transmitting in the clear.
Your Printer Firmware Hasn’t Been Updated Since Install
Printer manufacturers regularly release firmware updates patching buffer overflows, authentication bypasses, and remote code execution flaws. But unlike your laptop, printers sit quietly running outdated firmware for years. When a vulnerability is disclosed, attackers scan for exposed devices within hours.
Fix it: Establish a quarterly firmware review for all networked print devices. If managing this manually feels like too much, it’s exactly the kind of task Managed Print Services is designed to handle.
Nobody Knows What’s Printing (Or Who’s Printing It)
Most organizations have zero visibility into their print environment. No logs. No audit trail. No alerts when 300 pages print at 11pm by a user whose account should have been deactivated. Print logs aren’t just security — they’re an accountability mechanism required by many regulated industries.
Fix it: Implement print audit logging centrally. Enable PIN-release printing so documents only print when the authorized user is physically at the device — dramatically reducing both data exposure and paper waste.
“A printer isn’t just a printer anymore. It’s a networked computer with a hard drive, an operating system, and open ports — sitting in your office, trusted by your firewall, and forgotten by your IT policy.”
— ABT Security Assessment Team, Salt Lake CityGood Print Security Is Not Complicated. It Just Has to Be Done.
None of the five fixes above require enterprise-scale IT investment. They require awareness, a written policy, and about an hour of configuration work per device — plus knowing which devices you have, what firmware they’re running, and who has access to them. That’s the gap most Utah businesses have. And it’s exactly what a Managed Print Services assessment closes.
At ABT, our print environment audit covers all five risk vectors — plus fleet optimization, supply management, and compliance documentation for HIPAA, FERPA, and other regulated industries. We work with businesses across Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, and Weber counties.
Get a Free Print Security Assessment for Your Utah Business
ABT’s no-obligation assessment takes about an hour and covers every device on your network. We’ll identify exactly where your vulnerabilities are — no jargon, no sales pressure.
Request Your Free Assessment →Print security isn’t a niche concern for enterprise IT. It’s a real, present, and largely ignored attack surface in offices across Utah — and one of the easiest to close once you know where to look.
Questions? Call us at (801) 972-1030 or visit abtyes.com. Based in South Salt Lake — serving Utah businesses for over two decades.
