Security Features to Consider
In response to market demand manufacturers of MFPs are adding more security capabilities, both optional and standard. Consider if these capabilities are needed for your MFP:
- Secure print: enables users to send print jobs with a PIN number, which must be entered at the control panel to begin the document print. This prevents sensitive documents from lying in an output tray where could be seen by unauthorized users.
- Data security kits/hard drive overwrite kits: overwrite the data on the MFP’s hard drive (the number of overwrites varies according to manufacturer) to make it difficult if not impossible to retrieve.
- Hard drive encryption: encrypts all data on the hard drive. Encryption of PDFs for scanning, however, is often standard.
- Access card security: swipe of a card adds level of security.
- Biometric authentication: Namely fingerprint readers in order to access the device.
Other security features to consider:
Level of encryption; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Security Checklist, which requires manufacturers to submit documentation to NIST outlining each security feature available and how an IT professional can properly enable them; IEEE P2600, an industry standard that defines the security requirements for MFPs in corporate environments, has been developed with participation from vendors; Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) which is a replacement for IPv4 -- IPv6’s major security enhancement is that IPsec, the protocol for IP network-layer encryption and authentication, is an integral part of the IPv6 suite, not optional as with IPv4.