Over the past weekend, a series of UNL printers received threatening messages from unknown sources. To reduce the risk of spammers and malicious activity, departments and individuals operating printers on the UNL network are encouraged to take advantage of security resources available from Information Technology Services. All students, faculty and staff should report any malicious printer messages or activity to University Police.
“Printers, as well as cameras and control systems that operate on the network can be exploited or hacked in the same way that criminals take over computers,” says Rick Haugerud, chief information security officer. Printers can be secured to take advantage of features without opening the door to criminal activity. Printing from off-campus users can be blocked, so that only authorized personnel can print either from their on-campus computers or from off-campus via a virtual private network (VPN) connection.
One prevention step printer owners can take is changing the default password assigned to a new printer or device to a unique, strong password. Default passwords are often never changed and have been frequently exploited by hackers.
For more resources and practices on printer security and best practices:
http://go.unl.edu/printersecurity
Written by Jon Wilson