Is Mobile Printing Right for Your Business?

On-Demand Printing and Agility

Mobile employees need access to business documents, but "read-only" access isn’t enough. Mobile team members need to be agile: able to create, use, and share notes, invoices, and fact sheets. Mobile printing eliminates cumbersome workarounds (like emailing documents to yourself or a client) and can even allow guests and customers to print.

Considerations:

• Security — Passwords, ID cards, and two-factor authentication can all be leveraged in mobile printing solutions to prevent data loss. Of course, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies are mandatory.

• Costs — Mobile printing can reduce hardware expenses by freeing your team to use smartphones and tablets instead of costly laptop computers. Ensure central management—like an MPS partner—oversees your mobile printing solution.

• Ease of Use — Depending on your needs, you may prefer email-to-printer, browser-based solutions, independent applications, or MPS tools to get your documents from device to paper.

• Features — Your solution can include functionalities like guest printing and eco-friendly rules, or your devices can be set up to keep your options simple.

For more information regarding MOM's mobile solutions, check out the Mobile page on our website.

Security Breaches can be Costly for Businesses

Sensitive information leaked can equal a scandal for companies. Besides the obvious loss of customer trust, reputation, sales and lowered stock price, the non-compliance fines can spell real trouble for an unwitting business. Audit committees are voracious about protecting customer-related information and corporate sensitive data.

Companies are required to comply with data-privacy regulations, best practice requirements and industry guidelines regarding the usage and access to customer data. Privacy requirements for protecting non-public personal information include: selective encryption of stored data, separation of duties, proper access control and centralized independent audit functions.

Data security is not an option - it is mandatory according to government legislation and industry regulations. For example, the U.S. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) requires financial institutions and their partners to protect non-public personal data while in storage, while implementing a variety of access and security controls. Failure to comply with GLBA results in big regulatory fines for the financial institution. Equally damaging, the CEOs and directors can be held personally responsible and legally liable for any misuse of personally identifiable non-public information.

There are $4 million in losses quoted as the annual estimated loss from security breaches according to the Computer Security Institute (CSI) Computer Crime and Security Survey. Further it was revealed that over half of the databases have some kind of breach on a yearly basis. Being that these are only the security problems that companies are reporting, this percentage is staggeringly high. Organizations don't want to advertise the fact that their internal people have access to customer data and can cover up their tracks, take that data, give it to anybody, and stay undetected and employed while a crime is committed.

Download our document on How to Avoid Getting Ransomware. 

Protect privacy starting with email

Encrypted Email Signups Skyrocketed After Trump Victory.

Donald Trump said US has to get better when it comes to “the cyber,” and it’s clear that many Americans are taking that advice to heart. They’re signing up for secure, encrypted email accounts like never before. ProtonMail is one of the providers of free and low-cost tools that anyone can use to boost their digital privacy.

ProtonMail's scientists, engineers, and developers drawn together by a shared vision of protecting civil liberties online. This is why they created ProtonMail, an easy to use secure email service with built-in end-to-end encryption and state of the art security features. The goal is to build an internet that respects privacy and is secure against cyberattacks.

They are committed to developing and widely distributing the tools necessary to protect your data online. The team combines deep mathematical and technical knowledge from the world's top research institutions with expertise in building easy to use user interfaces. Together, they are building the encrypted communication technologies of the future.

End-to-End Encryption

Messages are encrypted at all times

Messages are stored on ProtonMail (PM) servers in encrypted format. They are also transmitted in encrypted format between PM servers and user devices. Messages between PM users are also transmitted in encrypted form within PM secure server network. Because data is encrypted at all steps, the risk of message interception is largely eliminated.

Zero Access to User Data

Your encrypted data is not accessible to ProtonMail

ProtonMail’s segregated authentication and decryption system means logging into a ProtonMail private email account requires two passwords. The first password is used to verify the identity of the user. After that, encrypted data can be retrieved. The second password is a decryption password which is never sent to ProtonMail. It is used to decrypt data on your device so PM do not have access to the decrypted data, or the decryption password. This means PM cannot hand over your data to third parties. For this reason, PM are also unable to do decryption password recovery. If you forget your decryption password, PM cannot recover your data.

Open Source Cryptography

Time-tested and trusted encryption algorithms

PM use only secure implementations of AES, RSA, along with OpenPGP. Furthermore, all of the cryptographic libraries PM use are open source. By using open source libraries, PM can guarantee that the encryption algorithms PM are using do not have clandestinely built in back doors. ProtonMail's open source software has been thoroughly vetted by security experts from around the world to ensure the highest levels of protection.

Why Switzerland?

A question often get asked is, Why is ProtonMail based in Switzerland and are there any real advantages?
PM believes there are. The first thing that comes to mind is that Switzerland is outside of US and EU jurisdiction. Unless you host your servers on a boat in international waters, you will need to be under some legal jurisdiction and in the post-Lavabit environment, this choice is particularly important. A common misconception is that the EU offers more legal protection than the US, but many of the same surveillance directives that exist in US law also have EU counterparts, in particular, German law may actually offer less legal protection than American law.

Switzerland however, is NOT part of the EU, and Switzerland applies a very different set of privacy laws. In the US and EU, gag orders can be issued to prevent an individual from knowing they are being investigated or under surveillance. While these type of orders also exist in Switzerland, the prosecutors have an obligation to notify the target of surveillance as soon as possible, and the target has an opportunity to appeal in court. There are no such things as National Security Letters and all surveillance requests MUST go through the courts (this is not the case in Germany). Furthermore, while Switzerland is party to international assistance treaties, such requests for information must hold up under Swiss law which has much stricter privacy provisions.

Nearly every country in the world has laws governing lawful interception of electronic communications. In Switzerland, these regulations are set out in the Swiss Federal Act on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (SPTT) last revised in 2012. In the SPTT, the obligation to provide the technical means for lawful interception is imposed only on Internet access providers, so ProtonMail, as a mere Internet application provider, is completely exempt from the SPTT’s scope of application. This means that under Swiss law, ProtonMail cannot be compelled to backdoor PM secure email system. As a Swiss company, ProtonMail also cannot be compelled to engage in bulk surveillance on behalf of US intelligence agencies.

This combination of factors means that a Lavabit like situation cannot occur with ProtonMail. However, ProtonMail has taken the Lavabit concept one step further and actually does not even possess the keys required to decrypt user data. As a result, even if ProtonMail was forced to turn over all PM computer systems, email contents will continue to be encrypted.

PM believe that comprehensive security can only be achieved through a combination of technology and legal protections and Switzerland provides the optimal combination of both. By coupling Switzerland advanced IT infrastructure with its unique legal environment, ProtonMail can deliver a service that is both reliable and secure.

For more information about internet surveillance in Switzerland and requests for information made to ProtonMail, please view PM Transparency Report.

Are You Protected Against Hackers?

With so much of our personal data out there thanks to ecommerce and social networking, it’s no wonder hackers and cyber criminals are able to help themselves to our information, which can have catastrophic results. Hacking can lead to such quagmires as identity theft, scams, theft, and file destruction. Is your personal and business data safe?

What can you do to protect your personal and company data against hackers and cyber crime?

Make it Strong – The first step to protect your data is having strong passwords. Use as many characters as possible, both capital and lowercase letters, and at least one number and one symbol. Leave out obvious details such as your name or date of birth. Avoid easy-to-answer security questions, ones to which the answer can be easily found online (your high school, pet’s name, favorite team, etc.). Also, don’t use the same password for all of your accounts. Having unique passwords will limit the potential damage if one of your accounts is compromised.

Back it Up – Regularly back up your files locally, making multiple copies of them to prevent against hard drive failure. This is especially important for your business, because lost business data usually adds up to lost time and money. So, make sure your backup system is fail-proof. Or, get even more backup protection by utilizing Managed IT Services, offered by many business solution providers, which will securely backup and store your data to protect against hackers and other disasters.

Secure Your Network Devices - An often overlooked area that’s vulnerable to hacking is your printing and imaging hardware. Threats aren’t just limited to outside attacks from cyberspace. People both inside and outside your organization can actually hack your devices and steal information from document images that are saved on the hard drives of your imaging devices. Your office equipment provider can help you take measures to secure these devices.

Browse Facebook Securely – Facebook accounts are frequent targets of hackers, so if you use Facebook, take advantage of the security measures provided to you. In your account settings enable ‘secure browsing’ to use an encrypted connection (https://) instead of a standard connection (http://).

Watch Where You Click – Never, ever click on a link in an e-mail from someone you don’t know. Phishing creates bogus e-mails attempting to lure you to a phony website and have you enter your username and password.

In the information age your personal data is out there; however, employing these methods will make it more difficult for hackers to get their hands on it.

How Secure is Your Data?

Your Confidential Data Could be at Risk

Think confidential information and documents are protected by your company’s IT security policies? Think again.

A recent survey by Harris Interactive revealed that 51 percent of survey respondents said they process confidential information through printers, copiers, and multi-function devices.

Additionally, 39 percent of employees who print, scan, or copy confidential information at work are concerned whether the information on their printing and imaging devices will remain secure.

These are valid concerns considering there is a very close link between the security of your business and your printing environments. Copiers, printers, fax machines, scanners, and multi-function devices pose a serious risk to your business’ overall security. These devices retain latent document images and text, leaving sensitive information and proprietary data extremely vulnerable to a security breach.

But, securing your print environment is easy with a Managed Print Services (MPS) Program that’s designed to assess all of your devices, provide a detailed security report, and develop a highly secure strategy for your future. Your customized plan can also include usage controls that ensure private information is only accessed by authorized users, and will also help you achieve regulatory compliance. Shrewd business owners know that security breaches damage your brand and can result in heavy fines, so this is protection that pays dividends in the long run. 

Here’s the bottom line:

An MPS solution will not only optimize your output fleet to cut costs and increase efficiency, but will also provide you with the peace of mind that your entire printing and imaging environment is safe and secure.

Contact us today, and you’ll understand why we place the highest priority on your company’s data and are committed to helping you protect your valuable information. 

To learn more about how MOM can help you with your managed print services needs, visit our website at http://www.momnet.com/Managed-Print-Services1 or click here try out our FREE PRINT SAVINGS CALCULATOR.