Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the workplace looked pretty much the same. Then, all at once, came a bunch of technological advances. We’re talking mobile devices, high-speed Internet and powerful video-conferencing software. Old office models started to change and diversify.

These days, the workplace looks very different. It would be hard to find two that are exactly alike.

And it’s not just because of new office hygiene practices in response to COVID-19. Long before the pandemic hit, employees were already starting to work more from home or on the road. Freelancers and contractors were turning traditional businesses into the gig economy. The desk-based office was evolving into something much more dynamic.

That all had an effect on printing in the workplace. Users wanted the convenience of printing from anywhere—but without added complexity. IT admins found themselves being asked to support more BYOD and guest devices or home-based printers.

As a result, organizations need more flexibility from their print-management software. However, that need creates competing demands. IT admins now must ensure ease of use while maintaining secure printing practices.

 

The foundation for flexible printing practices

Print-management software designed for yesterday’s office isn’t suited to newer workplace models.

That’s why PrinterLogic is different. Years ago, we saw what printing in the workplace would start to look like. The future we envisioned had less print infrastructure and much more flexibility.

Print management with advanced features

Our serverless print management solution has advanced features that meet the needs of modern work environments:

• Self-service installation portal: Typically, users have to map a printer to print. This often results in asking IT to take the time to do it for them. PrinterLogic lets users easily identify and safely install printers on their own.
• Touchless printing: Updated office hygiene best practices require a new way of thinking about printing. Users need to release secure print jobs without having to physically touch the printer. With PrinterLogic’s badge release feature, users can simply swipe their ID cards, no contact required.
• Pull printing: Flexible printing means sending a print job to where you’re going to be—not where you currently are. Pull printing from PrinterLogic lets roaming users pick up a pending print job from any authorized printer.
• Email to print: Making it possible for remote employees to print on office printers presents a challenge. It often involves cumbersome VPN setups. That’s why PrinterLogic offers convenient email-to-print capabilities. Authorized off-network users can simply send their files as email attachments to approved printers.
• Mobile printing: Managing BYOD and guest devices can be a huge pain point for IT admins. With PrinterLogic’s mobile printing feature, you can effortlessly support native printing from iOS and Android devices.

This set of features helps organizations print simply and securely. And it’s possible regardless of how they’re configured.

 

A print-management solution for today and tomorrow

There’s no doubt that the workplace was already in flux before COVID-19. And there’s also no doubt that it will keep changing in the years to come.

A SaaS print-management solution like PrinterLogic is here to help. Enable your organization stay several steps ahead of that change. Our centrally managed direct-IP printing solution eliminates existing print servers. Furthermore, it brings added flexibility to your workflows. PrinterLogic even supports emerging initiatives around improving secure printing and office hygiene.

Remote workers and BYOD devices have made printing in the workplace a challenge. Legacy print-management approaches simply don’t support a mobile workforce. Along with its modern take on print management, PrinterLogic provides a scalable, flexible printing solution. It admins can meet those challenges, and any others that might lie ahead.

In 2019, the online training platform Skillbox sent a rogue print job to unsecured network printers. To do that, they relied on a search tool called Shodan that discovers vulnerable Internet-connected devices. It was the very same tool that a prankster known as HackerGiraffe had used to hijack 50,000 network printers a few months earlier.

Both HackerGiraffe and Skillbox used Shodan for benign purposes. One was to promote a YouTube channel. The other was to print out flyers for a new design course. But, what’s worrying is that they were able to breach the defenses of security-conscious organizations.

Every few months, an equally high-profile—and much more serious—cyberattack makes headlines. This serves as an urgent reminder to federal governments and their agencies to reinforce their security infrastructures.

Often, government printing and print management are forgotten in that process. A Spiceworks study found that just 22% of organizations actively monitor their printer syslogs. Furthermore, only 13% integrate their printers into security information and event management (SIEM) tools. A 2019 Quocirca Global Print Security report found that nearly 60% of organizations had suffered a print-related data loss in the past year.

What explains that mismatch? Why are the vulnerabilities of printers and print management software frequently overlooked? And more importantly, what can federal IT officials do to fix things?

The three most common print security mistakes

To answer those questions, it’s important to first identify where government printing often goes wrong.

1. Lack of awareness

Printers have been around for ages. That leads even tech-savvy people to see them as part of the furniture. But, of course, they’re not “dumb” at all. Like IoT devices, they’re connected to the network 24-7. This exposes all of their vulnerabilities to the network.

2. Using outdated legacy technology

When a printer is working like it should, it becomes an afterthought. From a print management standpoint, admins often hold off on updating printer drivers for fear of breaking functionality. This leaves the print environment riddled with exploitable, out-of-date software.

3. User error

It’s one thing to have tons of secure print safeguards in place. It’s another thing to make sure your end users actually utilize them. That’s one reason why phishing attacks are still t he most effective way of breaching IT security.

Security-conscious organizations take these mistakes seriously. They treat them more like outright threats to a secure print environment. PrinterLogic’s next-generation print management software is a valuable tool for addressing those threats.

Streamline printing while hardening security

The US Department of Defense and the US Department of Homeland Security trust PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure. More than 40 other federal entities use PrinterLogic to keep their print environments safe.

That’s not just because PrinterLogic offers dedicated secure print functionality. PrinterLogic’s streamlined print management allows IT to monitor the print environment more easily, as well as keep it up to date.

Secure print management by design

PrinterLogic’s Direct IP printing platform is inherently secure, keeping print jobs local. There are other federal security features that are worth noting as well.

FIPS 140-2 compliance

As the first print management software company to be independently tested and meet the FIPS 140-2 standard, PrinterLogic is a perfect solution for data-sensitive sectors.

Advanced reporting & monitoring

PrinterLogic’s Admin Console lets federal IT officials supervise and control the entire print environment from a single pane of glass. That includes updating drivers using a common repository. And it all happens safely behind the organization’s firewall.

Secure release printing

CAC/PIV is a tried-and-tested secure printing method in government printing. PrinterLogic’s CAC/PIV solution works with your existing printers. Not only is it easy to implement and, it also empowers your end users to conveniently release their print jobs from any printer.

On top of that, PrinterLogic’s unique direct IP printing platform makes it possible to eliminate print servers. Doing so reduces the attack surface by design and thwarts malicious actors.

PrinterLogic is ideal for government printing

As long as IT networks exist, there will be people who try to exploit their weaknesses to steal data.

By avoiding the common mistakes in print security, PrinterLogic helps eliminate those vulnerabilities. With inherently secure software, you’ll prevent your organization from becoming a statistic. Our print management software is a proven solution for government printing that simultaneously streamlines, simplifies and hardens your print environment to protect it against attacks.