Remote Printing Security: How to Keep Business Printing Secure

What is remote printing?

Remote printing allows a user to send a document to a printer from outside its immediate local network.

For example, an employee working from home could submit a document to the office print environment so it is ready when required. Users may also need to print securely between different offices, from laptops away from the corporate network, or from approved mobile devices.

For businesses embracing flexible working, this can remove a lot of unnecessary friction.

However, the further printing extends beyond the traditional office network, the more important it becomes to control who can print, where documents can be printed and what happens to the data between submission and collection.

What are the main security risks with remote printing?

Remote printing itself isn’t inherently insecure. Problems tend to arise when businesses rely on older print infrastructure or don’t apply the same security principles to printing that they apply elsewhere in their IT environment.

Some of the most common risks include:

• Print data being intercepted: Documents travelling between devices, servers, cloud platforms and printers need appropriate encryption.
• Unmanaged devices: Employees may attempt to print from personal laptops, tablets or smartphones that aren’t subject to the organisation’s normal endpoint controls.
• Weak user authentication: Without proper authentication and permissions, users may gain access to printers or print functions they don’t require.
• Documents left at the printer: Even a securely transmitted document becomes a security problem if confidential pages are left sitting in an output tray.
• Poor visibility: Without suitable monitoring and reporting, IT teams may have limited information about who is printing, where they’re printing and how print resources are being used.
• Printer vulnerabilities: Modern multifunction printers are connected devices. Like other network endpoints, they need to be configured, maintained and updated appropriately.

The objective isn’t simply to secure the printer. Businesses need to consider the entire print workflow. Find out more about automating your print workflow here. 

How can businesses make remote printing more secure?

A layered approach is generally the most effective. Rather than relying on one security measure, organisations can combine encryption, authentication, permissions, secure document release and monitoring.

1. Protect print data in transit

A remote print job may pass through several systems before reaching its destination.

Encryption helps protect that information while it moves between the user’s device, print infrastructure and printer.

Businesses using cloud-based print management should also understand how documents are protected both while being transmitted and, where applicable, while temporarily stored or queued.

The principle is straightforward: sensitive print data should be protected throughout its journey.

2. Use secure print release

One of the simplest print security problems is also one of the easiest to overlook: documents being printed and left unattended.

Secure print release helps solve this.

Instead of a document immediately appearing in a printer tray, the job is held until the authorised user is physically at the device. Depending on the print solution, users may authenticate using methods such as a PIN, access card or mobile device.

Only after successful authentication is the document released.

This can be particularly valuable for organisations handling confidential information, as well as businesses with shared multifunction devices in busy offices.

3. Control who can print and where

Not every employee needs access to every printer or every printing function.

User- and role-based permissions can help businesses restrict access according to genuine requirements. For example, different rules might apply to departments, locations, device types or groups of employees.

Applying the principle of least privilege to printing can reduce unnecessary exposure while also helping organisations maintain better control of their print environment.

4. Think beyond the office network

Historically, businesses often treated anything inside the corporate network as relatively trusted.

Hybrid working makes that assumption increasingly difficult.

A more modern approach is to verify users and devices rather than relying solely on their network location. Applied to printing, this can mean authenticating users, encrypting print communications, restricting permissions and holding sensitive jobs until the user is ready to collect them.

The aim is to make security follow the user and document rather than depend entirely on where somebody happens to be working.

5. Secure mobile and BYOD printing

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies can make flexible working easier, but personal devices aren’t necessarily managed in the same way as company-owned equipment.

If employees are allowed to print from personal devices, businesses should establish clear policies covering:

• which users and devices are permitted to print;
• how users authenticate;
• which printers they can access;
• how print data is protected;
• whether personal devices need to meet minimum security requirements.

A well-designed print solution can give employees convenient access without unnecessarily exposing the wider corporate network.

6. Keep printers and print infrastructure updated

Printers and multifunction devices should be treated as part of the IT estate.

Firmware, print servers, operating systems and associated applications should be reviewed and updated appropriately. Default passwords should be changed, unnecessary services disabled where appropriate, and administrator access properly controlled.

Print security works best when it forms part of the organisation’s wider cybersecurity and device-management policies.

7. Monitor and audit printing

Visibility is another important part of print security.

Print management software can give IT teams a clearer picture of activity across the organisation, including who is printing, which devices are being used and when printing takes place.

Depending on the organisation and the solution deployed, this information can help with security investigations, internal policies, compliance requirements and general print management.

It can also highlight unusual behaviour and provide useful insight into print volumes and costs.

Is printing from a mobile phone secure?

It can be.

The security of mobile printing depends on the device, connection and print solution being used.

Businesses should avoid simply opening printers to unrestricted mobile access. A managed mobile printing solution should identify or authenticate users, control the printers they can access and protect print jobs during transmission.

Is BYOD printing safe?

BYOD printing can be implemented securely, but it requires the right controls.

Personal devices may not be subject to the same management policies as corporate equipment. Organisations should therefore decide exactly which devices are allowed to print and what security requirements need to be met.

The objective should be to provide convenient printing without giving an unmanaged device unnecessary access to the business network.

Can employees securely send documents to the office printer from home?

Yes, provided the print environment has been designed for remote access.

A secure setup should protect the document while it’s being transmitted, verify the user and control when the physical document is released.

For sensitive documents, secure print release is particularly useful because the document can remain in a protected queue until the employee is present at the printer.

Should businesses record printing activity?

For many organisations, print auditing is extremely useful.

It can provide visibility over users, devices, locations and print volumes and help businesses understand how their print infrastructure is actually being used.

For organisations operating in regulated sectors or dealing with confidential information, that visibility may form an important part of broader information governance and security processes.

A practical remote printing security checklist

Businesses reviewing their remote or hybrid print environment should consider several areas:

1. Map how print jobs travel from users to printers.
2. Review how print data is encrypted.
3. Introduce user authentication where appropriate.
4. Consider secure print release for confidential documents.
5. Restrict printer access according to user requirements.
6. Review mobile and BYOD printing policies.
7. Keep printers, firmware and print infrastructure maintained and updated.
8. Monitor print activity and investigate unusual behaviour.
9. Include printers within wider IT and cybersecurity policies.
10. Regularly review whether the print setup still matches the way employees actually work.

Secure printing for the modern workplace

Printing may be one of the longest-established parts of office IT, but the way businesses use it has changed dramatically.

Employees are working across offices, homes and multiple devices. Print security needs to work across those environments too.

The right print management solution can help organisations make printing easier for employees while maintaining control over users, devices, documents and costs.

My Group Printing can help you review your existing print environment and identify opportunities to improve security, simplify remote and hybrid printing, and gain greater visibility over your print infrastructure.

Whether you’re looking to introduce secure print release, improve mobile printing, modernise an ageing print setup or develop a more comprehensive managed print strategy, our team can help you find a solution suited to your organisation.

Talk to My Group Printing about secure print management and remote printing solutions for your business.

Source & further reading

This article has been adapted and expanded for My Group Printing using guidance from PaperCut’s Remote Printing Security Concerns & FAQs. PaperCut highlights the importance of protecting the complete remote printing journey, from the moment a print job is submitted through to authentication and secure document release.

For the original technical guidance, read PaperCut: Remote Printing Security Concerns & FAQs.