Print management refers to the set of strategies, processes, and technologies implemented to oversee and control the entire printing process within a company.
It represents a security challenge for businesses for several reasons:
- Data security: Companies handle and print a significant amount of sensitive documents, such as financial reports, customer information, strategic data, etc. The security of this information is crucial, and poor print management potentially exposes this data to risks of leakage or hacking.
- Infrastructure complexity: In many companies, printing infrastructures are often intricate, encompassing various types of printers, scanners, and devices connected to a network. Coordinated and secure management of these devices can prove challenging.
- Awareness and user control: Employees may print sensitive documents without being fully aware of the security risks associated with printing. It can therefore be challenging to determine appropriate control.
- Print fleet management: In large enterprises, managing printers scattered across different departments or sites can be challenging. The challenge is to successfully achieve centralized and effective management of these print fleets.
Did you know that 61% of organizations have experienced a security breach related to printing? Yet, only 38% have implemented a secure print management system.*
To address these issues, Doxense offers its software Watchdoc, a secure print management solution. In this article, we will discuss the various benefits associated with securing print servers in the enterprise.
*According to Print Security 2023 de Quocirca
The challenge of print security
How does our software work?
Our Watchdoc software ensures the security of your printing at every level!
Securing user stations
It is quite logical to ensure that users only have access to their own documents and the various printing resources assigned to them.
To achieve this, Watchdoc operates in two ways:
- Directly on user workstations: thanks to our Watchdoc Print Client platform (available on Windows, Chrome, and Android), which retrieves the authenticated user's account with Google or Microsoft Azure AD, allowing the declaration of printed documents in the company directory.
- On print servers: by analyzing files from print queues (also known as spool files).
Furthermore, we employ a secure driver deployment system (certified by Microsoft), thus assuring our users that the publisher is verified.
Securing servers
By default, files from print queues are not encrypted. Anyone with access to the server can thus access the content of these documents. Watchdoc addresses this issue by encrypting spool files. It also allows configuring the visibility of print queues and restricting their rights, such as access to color printing, scanning, etc.
Securing printing resources
Originally, multifunction copiers are secured by a single administrator account. All users, therefore, utilize the same anonymous access.
Each user must obtain personal access to prevent the viewing of printed and scanned documents by others.
To meet this need, the Watchdoc solution allows deploying the Watchdoc Embedded Solution (WES) module on multifunction devices. It secures access to the copier, requiring users to authenticate via code or badge to access their personal space.
Securing software
The administration interface is accessible remotely with Watchdoc, thanks to the secure integration of Active Directory, Azure AD, and LDAP directories.
Our software complies with GDPR, adhering to the principles and obligations outlined in this European regulation regarding the protection of personal data. In the context of an on-premise solution, the software allows any user to exercise their right to erasure (also known as the 'right to be forgotten'). The Watchdoc solution enables the anonymization of users' personal data, allowing the retention of statistics while respecting GDPR. Watchdoc allows you to finely manage access rights, including user management, print queue administration, quota management, access to statistics, or document preview.
Securing your company's printing
Is your company compatible with our print management software? There's a high likelihood that it is!
Indeed, we collaborate with large companies in both the private and public sectors. For this reason, Watchdoc has been designed to handle a large number of users and copiers.
Furthermore, it is essential for our clients to use our software with all their multifunction devices; therefore, we have ensured that Watchdoc is compatible with multiple brands.
As discussed earlier, the use of a secure print management solution within a company helps protect its data from printed and scanned documents. It is therefore crucial to ensure the protection of personal information.
And what if you, too, chose to protect the sensitive data of your company?
To learn more about Watchdoc and the various measures in place to secure user printing, we invite you to download our whitepaper.