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According to recent research by insurance firm Hiscox1, 55% of UK firms have experienced a cyberattack in the last 12 months. More worryingly, the same research reveals that most businesses admit that they are underprepared for such attacks. The average reported cost of dealing with an incident is just short of £200k.
While larger firms are still most likely to suffer a cyberattack, the proportion of small firms reporting incidents is up from 33% to 47%, and for medium sized firms with between 50 and 249 employees the proportion has leapt from 36% to 63%.
Gareth Wharton, Hiscox’s head of Cyber commented on the true threat of cyberattacks to SMEs: “They may feel like they won’t be targeted, as we tend to only read about large breaches in the press. If they incorrectly feel that they won’t be targeted, they may be less likely to spend on cyber security.”
The real insider threat?
Many experts highlight employees as the weakest link in network security. Employees – whether inadvertently or maliciously – open phishing emails, connect unauthorised devices to corporate networks and take other actions that leave their businesses vulnerable to attack.
In our experience, networked printers should also be added to the list of ‘insider’ threats for businesses.
The infamous PewDiePie printer hack brought to light the vulnerability of networked printers to cyberattacks when network administrators allow direct access to printers and multi-function devices over the internet.
Research by Quocirca2 reveals that unsecured printing is severely impacting data security; some 63% of enterprises reported a print-related data breach.
Securing your printer fleet
Protecting your network from cyberattacks – especially securing your printer fleet – has become an increasingly technical process. Our approach is to put in place a secure printing structure that uses a gateway to isolate all print devices from the internet. We also configure each device to ensure that appropriate security settings are in place. The exact settings vary from printer to printer, so detailed knowledge of security settings for each manufacturer is a prerequisite.
The data proves that every organisation, large or small, is at risk from cybercrime. An online attack puts your assets, reputation and entire business at risk. With GDPR now in place, there are also heavy fines for businesses that do not take adequate steps to protect customer data.
For many businesses, it can be difficult to find good network administrators with the appropriate cyber security skills to fully protect your business from hackers. For SMEs, employing a full-time resource with up-to-date skills can be an expensive overhead.
No more excuses
ASL offers a comprehensive cyber security solution that covers everything from strategy to implementation. We make security expertise accessible to all businesses, large or small.
Improving printer and MFD security is our particular area of expertise and we offer a free-of-charge review of your printer/MFD security.
With access to our services, there really are no more excuses to be unprepared for cybercrime.
Click on the button below to request a free multi-function device security review.
[1]: https://www.hiscox.co.uk/cyberreadiness
[2]: Print security and GDPR compliance: European companies lag US peers,” Quocirca, August 2017