Enterprise print security is one of the easiest parts of a network to overlook and one of the most costly to get wrong. A printer looks like office furniture, so it rarely features on the security agenda. In reality, a modern networked printer is an endpoint that stores data, runs firmware and communicates with the rest of the network.
Research firm Quocirca surveyed 400 IT decision-makers and found that 56 per cent had experienced at least one print-related data loss incident in the previous year, with the average print-related breach costing close to one million US dollars.
For organisations across Western Australia, where a compromised device might sit in a regional office hours from the nearest technician, those numbers are worth taking seriously. Here are five risks that quietly exist within most print fleets.
Risk 1: Procurement and Supply Chain Blind Spots
The trouble often begins before a printer is even switched on, in the way it was purchased.
When procurement, IT and security teams work in separate silos, important requirements can fall through the cracks. HP Wolf Security research found that 60 per cent of IT leaders believe this lack of collaboration puts their organisation at risk, 42 per cent do not involve security teams in vendor presentations, and 54 per cent never request the technical documentation needed to verify a supplier’s claims.
The exposure continues after delivery, with 51 per cent unable to confirm whether a device was tampered with during manufacturing or while in transit. A printer that arrives with a pre-installed vulnerability puts the network at risk before it prints a single page.
Risk 2: Unpatched Firmware and Slow Patch Management
Buying securely is only the beginning. Keeping a device secure depends on how quickly known vulnerabilities are addressed.
Firmware is where many organisations fall behind. The same research found that only 36 per cent of IT decision-makers apply printer firmware updates promptly, even though teams spend around 3.5 hours per printer each month managing hardware and firmware issues.
Outdated firmware leaves a device exposed to malware and unauthorised access, and the problem is made worse by poor visibility. Only 35 per cent of teams can identify which printers are vulnerable when a new firmware threat is published. An attacker who compromises unpatched firmware can remain undetected within the fleet for a considerable time before anyone notices.
Risk 3: Legacy Architecture and Print Spooler Exploits
Older print environments carry risks built into their architecture, not just their configuration.
Traditional print servers hold print jobs in a shared central queue. If an attacker gains access to that queue, every document passing through it is exposed, and the server itself becomes a pathway for moving laterally across the network to more valuable systems.
Flat network architectures make this easier because printers connected directly to the corporate network without appropriate segmentation provide an attacker with an accessible entry point. Unused ports and forgotten protocols create additional attack surfaces.
This remains a recurring weakness in many enterprise print security assessments. Serverless secure pull printing addresses the issue by removing the central queue, one of the most commonly targeted components within the print environment.
Risk 4: Human Error and Unattended Document Trays
Not every risk is technical. Some simply sit in the output tray.
Confidential documents left unattended remain one of the oldest security exposures in the workplace, and 70 per cent of security leaders continue to identify this as a significant concern. Under the Australian Privacy Principles, a client or employee record left in plain sight can have genuine compliance consequences.
The answer is not to add unnecessary complexity, because overly restrictive controls often encourage insecure workarounds. Secure pull printing, where a print job is only released once the authorised user authenticates at the device using an ID card, PIN or mobile phone, closes that gap without disrupting productivity.
Risk 5: Insecure Decommissioning and Disposal
The risk does not end when a printer leaves the building.
A printer can retain sensitive data on its internal storage long after it has been retired, and many organisations are not confident that information has been completely removed. HP Wolf Security research found that 86 per cent see data security as a barrier to reusing, reselling or recycling a device, while 35 per cent are unsure whether a printer can be fully wiped.
That uncertainty often drives unnecessary responses, with one in four organisations physically destroying storage drives and one in ten destroying the entire device. Hardware with built-in cryptographic erasure removes the uncertainty and allows a printer to be securely reused, resold or recycled instead of ending up in landfill.
Bringing Enterprise Print Security Under Control
No single product eliminates all five risks. What connects them is how the print fleet is managed throughout its entire lifecycle, from procurement through to secure disposal.
As Western Australia’s dedicated HP Print Master Dealer, MST Edge works directly with HP rather than through multiple layers of intermediaries. That direct relationship means devices can be validated against enterprise security standards before deployment, firmware and policy compliance can be managed consistently across the fleet, and retired devices can be securely wiped using certified erasure rather than physical destruction.
For businesses across Perth and regional WA, it also provides a shorter path to HP engineering support whenever assistance is required.
Enterprise print security is not about treating printers as a threat. It is about managing them with the same level of attention as every other endpoint on the network.
For organisations reviewing how their print fleet is procured, managed and retired, one question is worth asking: if a printer is effectively a computer that happens to print, is it being secured like one?