The Simply Smarter Blog

Hybrid workstyles have driven the need for secure access to the cloud for all technology used in the workplace. As a result, you are no longer tethered to your desktop, and neither are your files! Meet the new Advanced and Essentials Series workgroup multifunction printers (MFPs) from Sharp. They provide seamless and secure access to enterprise workflows from wherever you are working.

These new MFPs check all the boxes when it comes to today’s diverse workstyles.

After nearly two years into the global pandemic, employees have acclimated to working fully remote or in some type of hybrid environment. The recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country – and the potential for newer, stronger variants – has led businesses to recalculate their return to office plans once again, keeping their employees' safety and health top of mind. According to the Harvard Business Review, over 90% of employers are planning to implement a hybrid schedule in 2022, showing that this work model is here to stay.

Although many of us are used to working from home, it’s important to remember that there are many differences between working in a corporate space and home office in terms of IT security. With the rate of cyber-attacks increasing by nearly 600% during the pandemic, it’s critical for organizations to have both their own devices, and those of their employees, fully secure in order to reduce the risk of an attack.

Recently, a security vulnerability in an open-source library called Log4J2 was made public on December 9, 2021. The Log4J2 library is a logging framework widely deployed within many Java-based applications. If the vulnerability is exploited, malicious intruders can pass and execute malware into the framework that could potentially allow them to access sensitive date and take control of targeted systems. Sharp has been working to assess the risk of the Log4J2 security vulnerability and how it affects Sharp document systems, professional and commercial display products and related applications, and services.

Although October is officially National Cybersecurity Month, the truth is that cybersecurity awareness needs to be a year-round endeavor — and more so than ever in this post-pandemic, hybrid-office, cloud-centric world. The annual Cost of a Data Breach Report from the Ponemon Institute and IBM shows 2021 had the highest average cost of a data breach in the report’s 17-year history — $4.24 million, up 10% from the previous year. In the U.S., the country with the highest cost, the average was more than $9 million.

If, as an organization, you’re not taking security seriously by this point, then it’s only a matter of time before you’re the next victim. Start now with the knowledge that every device on your network and every person with access to those devices is a potential attack vector — and yes, that includes copiers and multifunction printers (MFPs).

When you think about securing highly sensitive documents, cybersecurity probably comes to mind first. And while protecting your digital files is significantly important, you also need to address the most basic security issues – such as inadvertently leaving important documents lying around on or near a printer – that could have an adverse effect on your business.  That’s exactly what one offshore drilling company was faced with when they approached their local Sharp dealer to upgrade their equipment once their lease was up on their high-speed, color multifunction printers (MFPs).

It is no secret that in this age of new normality increased security threats, such as phishing or ransomware attacks, are a very real concern. Almost all devices are prone to cybersecurity threats and office printers and multifunction devices (MFPs) are no exception.