Document security has always been a challenge, particularly for education-based organizations.

Schools across the board must comply with a dizzying array of data privacy and protection regulations such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), among others.

While these regulations apply to all areas where private data is accessed by an educational organization, there are particular issues that evolve when managing documents printed on desktop printers. Problematic scenarios involve documents left in a printer output tray to be accessed by anyone, including unauthorized personnel and, potentially, even other students when a printer is shared along with typical hacking incursions.

The advent of remote work situations for teachers conducting virtual learning also puts an additional strain on print security, as many hackers target remote workers, particularly those that use virtual or video-conferencing technologies.

On top of that, hackers also use printers as an attack vector to get control of sensitive data, and many of them target older devices that have many security vulnerabilities.

With all of this activity occurring in and around the print environment, schools are often hard-pressed to understand the nuances of printer security and apply appropriate protections to their print infrastructure.

The New Print Security — Garnering Secure Transfer of Documents Through MFP Technology

Fortunately, today’s multifunction printers (MFPs) offer a wealth of print control technology to help keep your school in compliance with data privacy regulations.

And that is important, since academic data is of a sensitive nature, which appeals to cybercriminals. In fact, cyberattacks on educational institutions are on the increase as more schools leverage new technologies and virtual environments to provide top level education for their students in a safer, more productive way.

To stem the tide of cybercrime and to ensure that all your printing needs are specifically compliant with data regulations such as FERPA, industry leader Konica Minolta has doubled down on their MFP document and data security.

They have developed a series of ultra-secure MFPs that apply the latest security protocols to protect against emerging threats. To this end, their innovative bizhub SECURE Platinum product amplifies document confidentiality and enhances compliance. Their expansive array of security features include:

• Use an up to 20-digit secure alphanumeric password to secure your MFP hard drive
• Complete encryption of your MFP hard drive for additional protection
• Total elimination of data traces, even after deletion, with Temporary Data Overwrite
• Auto-deletion of data in Documents and Folders, System User Boxes, or personal or public User Boxes
• Ability to disable unsecured and unwanted services, protocols, and ports directly at the MFP
• Ability to enable Network User Authentication
• Ability to enable MFP audit logs to track user activity, check for suspicious activity, and determine printing behavior patterns

These robust capabilities and more are offered by Konica Minolta to provide complete assurance that any sensitive data your school handles is only seen and accessed by authorized personnel.

User authentication, logged email traffic, network security protocols and more, help speed up your productivity while applying state-of-the-art protections to your data — without putting extra stress on your in-house IT personnel.

Let DSI Help Your Educational Organization Achieve Compliance with Cutting-Edge MFP Technologies

Our team of print industry and information technology (IT) experts at DSI have worked closely with industry leaders to bring the best in functionality, security, and cost-effectiveness to our clients across all industries.

Our education clients, however, will greatly benefit from the wide range of Konica Minolta MFPs, as they offer education-specific compliance protocols to ensure your school is completely in line with standard data privacy regulations.

With in-house IT departments at many schools busy keeping legacy equipment functioning at capacity, there is often little time to look to network — and especially print — security.

Our access to the most recent cutting-edge print technologies can solve that problem, helping to transform your school’s print security with easy to use, budget friendly solutions that take the pressure off of your in-house team.

Protect your academic and sensitive data and ensure your school is in compliance with data privacy regulations. Contact a DSI representative today and learn how an MFP from Konica Minolta can provide data safety — and peace of mind.