While it is certainly more exciting to think of attackers remotely cracking a company's defenses and plucking precious ones and zeros off networks, a crafty criminal may instead grab a handful of documents from an unattended office printer.
A new reader/software combo from Silex Technology plugs this often-overlooked security hole for Windows environments.
SecurePrint is a bundled product comprised of a server (SX-5000U2, $229 for extra units), which provides connectivity to the network for up to three USB printers, SX-SecurePrint software and a fingerprint reader (FUS-200N, $149 for extra units).
Unlike the bulky devices of old, fingerprint-based biometric technology has been miniaturized considerably. Indeed, it has shed enough weight and complexity that it fits into a number of portable systems and peripherals. Some current examples include certain models in IBM's ThinkPad line and Microsoft's latest batch of secure keyboards and mice. Silex takes that miniaturization one step further. In this case, the reader is no larger than a USB key.
The FUS-200N, with its Fujitsu developed 500 dpi sensor, measures a mere 1.8 x 4 x 0.8 inches and weighs 4.9 ounces (including the 5 foot cable). Once a finger hits its surface, the server/software/reader combo can verify a fingerprint in one second.
Chuck Jarrow, Deputy VP of Information Technology Services for L-3 Communications Government Services Inc. (L-3 GSI) deployed SecurePrint as a test bed to demonstrate its capabilities to customers. Having proven its worth, the product has become a fixture in certain departments within his company to boost privacy.
Who are L-3 GSI's customers? As the organization's name suggests, mainly the federal government, although state governments represent a healthy slice of their business. L-3 GSI provides them with wide range of technical services, IT security implementation and integration being among them.
Jarrow shares a scene that is common to many enterprises, ''I have a number of remote locations where we basically have one shared printer, management shares the printer with everybody else.''
Deploying personal printers for every manager simply isn't a practical or cost effective remedy. However, with SecurePrint, his managers can print memos, plans and business documentation without fearing that an ill-timed phone call will derail their walks down the hall to gather some printouts.
Back at headquarters, the keepers of some of L-3 GSI's most sensitive information aren't managers and department heads, but workers whose job it is to keep human resources humming. In this respect the technology allows HR workers to print documents containing intensely private and sensitive information such as salary details. For other multi-user, one-printer setups where the HR staff co-mingles with the rest, it can minimize the danger (and fallout) of colleagues catching a fleeting glance at personnel reshuffling plans or dreaded termination notices.
On the other hand, the technology can also help employees avoid career suicide.
Along with the usual filing cabinet filler, many office printers today are cranking out personal documents mainly because ''people spend more and more time at work everyday,'' says Gary Bradt, VP of Silex's Biometrics Division. This can have disastrous results if, like in one of Bradt's favorite examples, a jobseeker prints out his resume at work. Predictably, by the time he hurries over to the printer, it's gone.
This article was first published on EnterpriseITPlanet.com. To read the full article, click here.
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