IT security – maximum security for hardware and software in the office

Workplaces and offices are becoming increasingly digital. This also applies to printer fleets, where multifunction printers (MFPs) act as an interface between analog and digital processes. However, increasingly digital workflows also bring with them higher demands on the protection and security of your IT infrastructure and printer fleet, as well as your networks and data.

As an expert in office communication solutions and IT processes, UTAX guarantees state-of-the-art IT-Security across the board. This includes protecting your office hardware and all data processed on your devices. We offer companies of all sizes MFPs with integrated security features as well as software solutions for real-time monitoring, data and access protection, information security, and malware protection.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

What is IT-Security?
Why IT security is important for businesses
UTAX security for hardware and software at a glance
How UTAX protects your data and printers
These advantages offer you maximum IT security
IT security and data protection from a single source – with UTAX

What is IT-Security?

The meaning of the term “IT security” is identical to that of the German word “IT-Sicherheit.” IT security refers to measures taken to protect technical systems. This applies to defending against cyberattacks and data theft as well as protecting against failures, malfunctions, and data loss.

According to the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security), the most important protection goals for IT security include:

Confidentiality

Integrity

Availability

Whether small or large companies, government agencies, educational institutions, or other organizations—in this age of digitalization, IT security is an indispensable prerequisite for secure business processes and fully protected printer fleets.

Take precautions now: Utilize IT security that meets the highest security standards—with hardware and software from UTAX for a protected IT infrastructure. This includes modern MFPs with integrated protection functions as well as software tools for encryption, authentication, and monitoring of print jobs and document management.

Official definition of IT security according to the BSI

The BSI defines IT security as a “state in which the risks associated with the use of information technology due to threats and vulnerabilities are reduced to an acceptable level through appropriate measures.”

Why IT security is important for businesses

Threats from cyberattacks on companies and public authorities are constantly increasing. This applies above all to hackers and bot networks, which are constantly searching for vulnerabilities in corporate networks. According to a cross-industry Bitkom survey, eight out of ten of all companies surveyed have been or are currently affected by data theft, espionage, and sabotage. The resulting damage amounted to a total of €266.6 billion in 2024. However, the consequences are not only financial, as the loss of customer trust and reputation due to cyberattacks can also jeopardize a company's success.

The biggest current cyber threats include:

Ransomware attacks can render business data unusable and threaten the existence of companies.
Malware and phishing can lead to the theft of important access, financial, or company data.
Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks can overload corporate systems and cause outages.
Man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM) can intercept data and eavesdrop on network connections through unsecured systems.

Printer fleets as an underestimated IT vulnerability

What is often underestimated is that printing, scanning, copying, and faxing play a central role in IT security, as analog functions are increasingly being transferred to digital workflows via MFPs. MFPs and printers are therefore not only an indispensable part of the IT infrastructure, but also a potential weak point if IT security is lacking.

Companies that process documents on MFPs and feed them digitally into corporate systems must ensure that all data passing through their hardware, software, and networks remains protected at every stage of the process. This is especially true for hybrid IT infrastructures that support both cloud connectivity and remote work.

With UTAX, you can create holistically protected systems, networks, and printer fleets that have no security gaps and can be flexibly adapted to current threat situations.

The NIS 2 Directive requires higher IT security

Another reason for holistic IT security is the NIS 2 Directive, which came into force across the EU in 2023 and must be transposed into national law by all EU member states by October 17, 2024. In Germany, implementation is planned for 2025. If the NIS 2 Implementation Act, or NIS2UmsuCG for short, comes into force in March 2025, up to 30,000 affected companies and institutions will be required to comply with NIS 2 without a transition period. Penalties for violations can range from €500,000 to over €10 million and can even extend to the dismissal of management, who may also be liable with their private assets.

The good news: UTAX solutions already comply with important NIS 2 requirements thanks to integrated state-of-the-art security features for encryption, authentication, and device management. With our hardware and software, you can rely not only on our many years of expertise, but also on the high level of security required by NIS 2.

UTAX security for hardware and software at a glance

Make your IT infrastructure completely secure. Here you will find an overview of the most important UTAX security solutions and functions for hardware and software:

IT security for hardware	IT security for software
Data Security Kit for data encryption	Follow&Print for seamless authentication when printing
Trusted Platform Module as additional encryption and tamper protection	SecurePrinting for integrating reliable authentication methods (such as IC cards, PIN, or login details)
Secure Boot and Run-Time Integrity Check for Firmware Protection	Password-protected print jobs to protect all data on the MFP
TLS1.3 for current encryption protocols	SSL encryption and HDD/SSD encryption to secure data transfers and transmission paths as well as stored data on MFPs
Automatic certificate management for monitoring and updating certificates	Security watermarks to prevent unauthorized copying
Secure and private printing for print jobs with access control	Access controls and network protection in accordance with IEEE 802.1x
Fax security through encrypted fax communication, whitelisting, and confirmation for entries and destinations	IP and port settings for selected IP addresses, protocol types, and port numbers

Learn more about IT security with UTAX specifically for your hardware and software here! You can also find our UTAX products and solutions at specialist retailers near you—just use our dealer search!

How UTAX protects your data and printers

Not only the satisfaction, but also the security of our customers is a priority for us. For this reason, we offer tailor-made solutions that meet your specific security requirements and even comply with the strict NIS 2 specifications. Our IT security solutions, which guarantee protection across the board, include our security features for output systems such as MFPs as well as a secure corporate network.

Below, we present our most important building blocks and functions for reliable IT security:

Identification, authentication, and authorization

Our MFPs ensure one thing: only authorized users have access to documents and devices—regardless of whether a document is in the print queue or stored digitally on the MFP. We offer the following procedures and functions for user authentication and authorization:

User authentication: Access to information on MFPs and the output of print jobs are only possible after logging in with a PIN, IC card, or username and password.
Follow&Print: The Follow&Print feature ensures that print jobs remain in the printer queue until users log in to the output device.
Authorization levels: Administrators can assign different authorization levels to users and implement access restrictions by assigning roles.
Password optimization: When using passwords, the password policy ensures secure passwords by enforcing minimum length and complexity requirements. Suspicious logins result in automatic account locking.
Various authentication modes: We ensure seamless protection through multi-layered authentication. This includes local login to the MFP, network authentication for secure and encrypted user login, Kerberos authentication for single sign-on, and NTLM authentication for secure login to MFPs on the network. The IEEE 802.1x standard also prevents unauthorized access by unauthenticated devices and users on the network.
Interface lock: Access to your MFPs via USB or network interfaces can be restricted or blocked in the same way as the MFP display.
Digital signatures and watermarks: Printouts on the MFP can be marked with security watermarks. Digital signatures, consisting of device certificates and key pairs, enable files to be clearly assigned to an MFP and file integrity to be verified.

Encryption and data protection

Encrypting data stored, processed, or transmitted on your MFP is one of our most important security measures. Our concept for secure data encryption includes:

Data Security Kit: The Data Security Kit is certified for a wide range of our systems in accordance with ISO 15408 EAL2 and IEEE 2600.1. If print, copy, scan, or fax data is stored on the MFP hard drive, multiple overwriting and encryption before and after processing prevents unauthorized access or data recovery.
Trusted Platform Module: The integrated and tamper-proof TPM security chip provides additional, separate protection for passwords and certificates using the cryptographic module. This ensures that unauthorized persons cannot access important data, even if the hard drive is removed.
TLS 1.3 and SSL encryption: Modern encryption methods such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) ensure secure data transmission and protection against unauthorized access and manipulation.
PDF encryption: When you convert scanned documents to PDF on the MFP, you can secure the files with encryption and password protection.
Port and IP filters: Configured ports and registered IP addresses ensure that access only occurs via authorized and desired channels.
Protection of stored data: All data, settings, and documents stored temporarily or permanently on the MFP hard drive remain secure thanks to HDD/SSD encryption (AES) in accordance with ISO 15408. In addition to the Trusted Platform Module, functions such as one to three overwrites and up to seven overwrites are used to ensure reliable data deletion. Restricted access to stored data is enabled by user boxes with limited usage for data storage.

Device management and real-time monitoring

Maintain complete control over your device fleet with transparent order management and seamless logging of orders, logins, updates, device status, and access. This includes integrity checks of your device security, software verification, secure boot before each startup, optional whitelisting for files, and syslog logs that provide automatic alerts for security breaches thanks to real-time monitoring.

Our practical Security Quick Setup also offers your administrators the option of selecting preset security policies in levels 1 to 3 and customizing them further. This reduces your security setup to a single, simple step.

IT security with certification

UTAX systems offer you security certified by independent bodies, as they comply with security standards such as:

ISO 15408 EAL2: The Common Criteria security standards ensure the integrity of your IT security.
Hardcopy Device Protection Profile: The globally recognized HCD-PP certification guarantees data security and legal certainty that even meets government contract requirements.
IEEE 2600.1: The international standard for printing systems confirms that confidential data passing through printing systems is protected against unauthorized access.
IEEE 802.1x: IEEE 802.1x-certified network authentication ensures that only authorized users and authenticated devices can communicate and establish connections within the network.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WAP3: This certification guarantees that the latest Wi-Fi encryption and improved authentication are used for wireless data transmission.
NIS-2 Directive: With UTAX systems, KRITIS companies, i.e., companies that are part of critical infrastructure, can rely on compliance with strict data protection and information security requirements. To this end, we offer automated certification management (ACM), which automatically monitors and renews certificates using SCEP, OCSP, and CRL. In addition, there are modern functions for authentication and TLS encryption.
EU GDPR: Our security features enable a comprehensive data protection concept that allows us to comply with EU GDPR guidelines at the device, system, and network levels.

Software updates and firmware protection

Cyberattacks evolve over time and adapt to new technologies. This makes it all the more important to ensure that your printer fleet and systems are up to date by regularly updating your software and firmware. To this end, we offer:

Software updates: With our UTAX Smart Control Center, you can rest assured that new updates will be installed automatically—as needed for individual devices, selected device groups, or the entire fleet.
Firmware updates and firmware protection: Secure Boot and Run-Time Integrity Check are the main functions used to ensure that firmware is up to date and authorized. While Secure Boot checks the authorization of the firmware each time the system is started up, Run-Time Integrity Check regularly verifies that only official, valid, and unaltered firmware is running on your systems. If there is an integrity violation, you will receive immediate warnings. When updating firmware, you can also specify mandatory administrator authentication for firmware updates.

Secure printing, copying, and faxing

Our MFPs offer various configurations that prevent documents and information from falling into the wrong hands. These include:

Secure printing and private printing: Print jobs require authentication for printing and are then deleted in the case of private printing. Unauthorized access or unauthorized copies can be prevented or marked by text stamps such as “Confidential” or “Do not copy” and by printing device serial numbers or security watermarks.
Secure faxing: To protect your fax data, we offer modern methods for encrypting and decrypting your data and documents during transmission. You can also specify only authorized recipients by creating a rejection list, confirm transmissions by entering the recipient's fax number twice, or specify only permitted recipients via a list of recipients.

Would you like to know whether your basic IT security meets the requirements and recommendations of the BSI with regard to the protection goals of confidentiality, integrity, and availability? Then get an overview now—with our checklist for the most important basics of IT security:

Are modern encryption standards such as SSL and TLS 1.3 used for data transfers within the network or between printers and servers?
Do you use access protection that defines or restricts user access rights and only allows authorized access by logging in to the MFP or the system?
Do you use syslog and SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) to forward security-related incidents to an external SIEM server, log them, and notify administrators?
Do you use features such as Secure Boot or Run-Time Integrity Check to regularly and automatically check the integrity of your firmware?
Do you ensure regular and automatic updates of your software to keep your systems and hardware up to date?
Protect important data, documents, keys, and settings on the MFP with hard disk encryption and an additional Trusted Platform Module?
Do your security measures comply with current standards such as ISO 15408 EAL2 and IEEE 2600.1, as well as the requirements of the GDPR and NIS-2 Directive?
Do you use training courses on IT security topics to educate all employees about current cyber threats and best practices, as well as data protection and information security at the MFP?

Have you noticed that your IT security needs improvement? Then UTAX offers you the right solutions for hardware and software, as well as training support. Contact us now for a no-obligation consultation.

These advantages offer you maximum IT security

With UTAX, you can rely on the following advantages for a secure and protected IT infrastructure:

Your data remains confidential and protected thanks to encryption and authentication.
Events and accesses remain traceable at all times through the logging of accesses and events.
Thanks to real-time monitoring, they prevent disruptions and unauthorized access and ensure that suspicious events are automatically reported to administrators.
By logging in with a PIN, IC card, or username and password, you ensure that only authorized users have access.
They close potential security gaps through automatic and regular updates.
With comprehensive IT security, you can prevent unnecessary costs and risks arising from data loss, data theft, ransomware attacks, or violations of data and information protection regulations.
You can create a holistically protected IT infrastructure by using UTAX solutions from a single source.
Our certified IT security ensures that you comply with current data protection and legal requirements.

IT security and data protection from a single source – with UTAX

There are no one-size-fits-all solutions for comprehensive IT and data security. That's why we place particular emphasis on providing the optimal combination of state-of-the-art basic IT protection through MFP security features and security concepts tailored to your individual needs.

With our hardware portfolio, you can rest assured that our MFP models comply with the latest standards and guidelines for data protection and information security. This is ensured by standard integrated security components such as our Data Security Kit, as well as modern SSL and TLS1.3 encryption, access protection, Secure Boot, and Run-Time Integrity Check. In order to detect even the slightest signs of unauthorized access, all events on the MFP and in the network are logged, and a warning is triggered at the slightest suspicion.

In addition, we offer our UTAX Solution Packs for individual protection, such as the UTAX SecurityPack as an all-in-one solution for data and system protection, as well as our software solutions in the area of cost control and security. With UTAX, you can rely on a trustworthy and professional partner and service for IT security.