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Home > Copiers and printers > Copier security

PRINTER AND COPIER SECURITY
Your copier remembers every page you ever fed it.

Copier security: hard drives, data wipes and safe scanning

Most office copiers have a hard drive or memory that keeps images of jobs that were copied, scanned, printed or faxed. They also sit on your network with an admin page and stored email logins. Treat the copier like a computer, because it is one. Here is how we secure it and wipe it when it leaves.

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✓ HP printer and copier specialists★ Wipes with a written record at lease end

The short answer

  • Many copiers store images of documents on an internal hard drive or memory.
  • When a leased or old copier leaves your office, that data can leave with it unless it is wiped.
  • Copiers also hold network passwords, email settings and address books, and run firmware that needs updates like any computer.
  • Lock down the admin page, update firmware, encrypt storage where supported and wipe at lease end with a written record.
  • We set this up on every copier we install and handle the wipe when it is returned.
Hard drivein many office copiers
Admin pageoften left on the default password
Firmwareneeds updates like a computer
Writtenwipe record at lease end

A real lesson

In 2013 a New York health plan paid HHS more than $1.2 million after returning leased copiers without erasing the hard drives, which still held patient records. The fix would have been a simple wipe before the machines left the building.

Where copiers leak data

💾Stored imagesCopied, scanned and faxed pages kept on the drive or in job history.
🔑Default passwordsAn admin page anyone on the network can open and change.
✉Scan to emailEmail logins stored in the copier, or scans sent through an open relay.
📜Paper left behindPrinted payroll, patient or student pages left in the output tray.

Copier security checklist

  • Change the default admin password and limit who can reach the admin page.
  • Keep firmware updated.
  • Turn on storage encryption and automatic job image overwrite where the model supports it.
  • Turn off services you do not use, such as old file sharing protocols and open printing ports from outside.
  • Use a secure email relay for scan to email instead of storing a staff email password in the copier.
  • Use PIN or badge release so sensitive prints wait until the right person is at the machine.
  • Keep copiers on the office network, never on guest Wi-Fi.
  • Wipe or remove the hard drive before any copier is returned, sold or recycled, and keep the record.

HP security built in

HP business printers and copiers include HP Wolf Security features such as protected startup that checks the firmware each time the device boots, monitoring for tampering while it runs, and secure erase options. We turn these on and set them up for you, so the protection you paid for is actually working.

At lease end or replacement

StepWhat we do
Before pickupRun the secure erase or remove the drive, and clear address books and stored logins
RecordSerial number, date, method used and who did it, given to you in writing
Drive removedReturned to you or destroyed, as you choose
New copierSet up secure from day one with the checklist above

How WENO secures your copiers

1. Find them allEvery copier and printer on your network, with model, firmware and settings.
2. Lock them downAdmin passwords, firmware updates, encryption, unused services off.
3. Safe scanningScan to email and folders through a secure relay, not stored staff passwords.
4. Network protectionCopiers kept off guest Wi-Fi behind a WatchGuard® business firewall.
5. Wipe with proofSecure erase at lease end or replacement, with a written record for your files.

Questions people ask

Does my small printer have a hard drive?

Many desktop printers do not, but most larger office copiers and multifunction printers have a hard drive or storage that keeps job data. We check yours.

Does the leasing company wipe the copier?

Do not assume it. Ask for it in writing, or have us wipe it before it leaves your office.

Does this matter for HIPAA and student records?

Yes. Copiers that handle patient or student forms belong in your HIPAA risk analysis and school data protection. See HIPAA risk assessment.

Copiers and printersManaged print servicesHIPAA risk assessmentStudent data privacyWatchGuard firewallsBuy, lease or hardware as a service
Do not let your records leave with the copier.Secured on day one, wiped with proof on the last day.
Secure my copiers

Sources

  1. Hunton: HHS settles with Affinity Health Plan over copier hard drives
  2. FTC: Digital copier data security
  3. HP: Printers with HP Wolf Security

General information, not legal advice.