Here's How Modern Digital Copy Machines Safeguard Your Business' Scanned Documents
Although copiers have long been a staple in businesses, improvements in technology may have left many newer copiers vulnerable to security threats. Copiers became specialized computers containing hard drives that store an image of every document copied on the machine. This allows employees to easily share copies of documents with each other or print out additional copies of an older document.
While these convenience features increase productivity, they may also be a security risk. If you have an older copier, your business may be exposing sensitive data. Manufacturers of copy machines have responded to the threat by including additional security features that keep your sensitive data safe. Here's why upgrading your copier safeguards your business' data.
Full Encryption
Many modern copy machines use encryption all throughout the copy process. Once a document is scanned, the image is encrypted before it is stored on the hard drive. The temporary image is then deleted using several deletion passes on the hard drive, making it nearly unrecoverable. These copy machines also feature RAM encryption, which allows the copier to make copies without exposing un-encrypted data in the copier's memory. Full encryption prevents an attacker from recovering documents by stealing the copier's hard drive or infecting it with a program that monitors its memory, keeping your sensitive data safe.
Per-Employee Identification
Upgrading your copier security to a smart card system allows for easy identification of the employee who is using your copy machine along with a record of what they're copying or printing. If one of your employees wanted to steal the identities of your customers by making unauthorized copies of customer information, you would easily be able to pinpoint the exact employee who performed the copies. When employees know that their use of your copier is linked directly to them, it's less likely that they will attempt to defraud you by making unauthorized copies of sensitive data.
Routine Storage Deletion
A feature that's rare in older copiers the ability to routinely delete all the data stored on the copier's hard drive. While you can often manually delete data, this relies on your employees remembering to delete their scanned documents every time they use the copier. Automating the process makes it more reliable.
You may wish to do this at the end of every workday to ensure that no data is retained in the copier itself. Employees can still share documents during the day or print out extra copies of a document they scanned earlier in the day, but these documents won't stay on the copier and pose a security threat to your company.
Modern security features stop your copier from being a vulnerability in your business' infrastructure. If you have an older copier that puts your data at risk, contact a copier sales agent to discuss upgrading your copier to a model that encrypts data and prevents unauthorized access.
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