The Simply Smarter Blog

When summer hits and the office quiets down, many companies focus on lighter schedules, half-days and long-overdue vacations. But while employees unplug, cyber threats don’t take time off — especially when it comes to commonly overlooked devices like printers.

Printers may not seem like high-risk endpoints, but today’s cloud-connected models store data, receive remote jobs, and act as access points into broader systems. According to global leader in enterprise mobility and IoT management SOTI, the average cost of a data breach now exceeds $950,000, and containment takes nearly 277 days on average—regardless of the source. These breaches can expose highly sensitive information, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), patient health records, payment data and internal business documentation.

As the breakroom empties and workstations go dark, now’s a good time to ensure your office printers aren’t silently opening the door to risk.

Cybercriminals are more dangerous than ever, with ransomware attacks up 49% in 2025. Small and midsize businesses face growing risks from unsecured endpoints like laptops, printers, and IoT devices. The best defense is a multi-layered cybersecurity strategy with email protection, EDR, server monitoring, MFA, and employee training. Learn how to simplify security, protect your data, and close gaps with expert support and our free cybersecurity checklist.

In today’s digital-first world, securing sensitive information is more than a best practice—it’s a business imperative. As cyber threats evolve and consumer awareness around data protection grows, global security certifications like Common Criteria (CC) have become essential. But what exactly does Common Criteria certification mean, and why should it matter to your organization? Let’s break it down.

Copiers and printers have become increasingly crucial technology in small to medium-sized business (SMB) environments, managing everything from invoices and contracts to sensitive client data. The “State of SMB Cybersecurity in 2024” by ConnectWise revealed that 94% of SMBs have experienced at least one cyberattack, with a growing number of incidents traced back to overlooked endpoints—printers included. This data point is just one of many printer security statistics that show why securing printers should be a top priority in 2025.

Multifunction printers (MFPs) play a fundamental role in offices worldwide. However, it is critical to recognize that these devices can pose significant security risks if not correctly protected. With cybercriminals and malicious hackers constantly seeking vulnerabilities to exploit, it is necessary to understand the conventional attack methods they employ and implement robust security measures to mitigate these risks. Below, we address a few common printer vulnerabilities and best practices to identify and avoid them.

A 2023 study found that 68% of organizations in the United States and Europe experienced data loss due to unsecure printing. Modern multi-functional printers (MFPs) offer a wide array of advanced productivity features to keep employees engaged and connect them to various business applications. Given their strategic importance in today’s workplace, how can we ensure MFPs have proper security measures in place so that they avoid becoming weak points that open doors to bad actors? Following are some steps Sharp has taken to address this.

Per the recent Shields Up advisory issued by the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, it is quite possible that the U.S. will see a large increase in cyber-attacks. While there are no specific cyber threats to the U.S. currently, this conflict has brought cybersecurity conversations to the forefront. In light of this, and as trusted technology advisors, we have been in close conversation with our clients to guide them on steps they can take to boost their cybersecurity posture and help to keep their organization safe. We would like to take a moment and share some of these guidelines with you as well, as these should be adopted by all businesses, especially at a time like this.

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.

Just picture this— you’re a new employee diligently working, and out of the blue, your CEO e-mails you, asking for 10 Amazon gift cards. She says it’s for an important project she’s working on and she needs the gift cards ASAP! The pressure is on and you take a break from your hectic to-do list, and begin ordering the gift cards, until you realize… the person emailing is not your boss after all, but rather, a sneaky cybercriminal. And just like that, you are the newest victim of a phishing scam. How mortifying, right? Well luckily, there are steps that can be taken in order to avoid such embarrassing catastrophes.

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 today 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.