Printer/copier firm Xerox and anti-malware firm McAfee revealed new protection against malware and viruses with the first networked multifunction printer to use McAfee Embedded Control software, a filtering method that allows only approved programs to get through to protect print devices from malware.
Tom Moore, vice president, Embedded Security, McAfee told Help Net Security in a recent article, “When a multifunction device receives data and processes it for printing, copying, scanning or faxing, it becomes susceptible to malware attacks a susceptibility that often is overlooked.”
The Xerox and McAfee security solution simplifies processes for IT administrators with software embedded into a multifunction device’s controller to give an immediate alert and audit trail to track and investigate the time and origin of security threats – and take action. The blog says this eliminates the need for IT administrators to constantly stay on top of malware threats and proactively block them.
Survey data from Xerox (XRX) and McAfee underscores the need for embedded security in networked printers and multifunction devices. In a poll of office workers taken earlier this year: 33% say they either don’t always follow their company’s IT security policies; 21% aren’t aware of the company’s IT security policies.
The survey also showed 39% of employees who copy, scan or print confidential information at work say they wonder whether information like customer credit card numbers, financial reports, human resources, and tax documents will remain secure on networked a device.
“IT administrators 
don’t always consider printers as a threat – and with the Embedded Control software, we’ve put up even more defenses in our products so they don’t have to,” said Rick Dastin, president, Xerox Office, and Solutions Business Group.
Xerox devices protected and managed by McAfee Embedded Control and McAfee Embedded Management software will become available beginning in 2013, with products in the Xerox WorkCentre and ColorQube product lines.
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Finally, some tangible results from Intel‘s (INTC) acquisition of McAfee. We use McAfee where I manage shared technical services, and just we just rolled out version 8.8 which says Intel on it.
I have covered the risks of putting multifunction devices on your network here, here, and here. This is not what I expected, maybe this is the first evolution before Intel builds McAfee anti-virus into a chip that goes on the mainboard or even right into the processor as a way to protect print devices from malware.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Help Net Security explains the malware triggers the massive printing by exploiting the Windows default print spooler directory. “During the infection phase, a .spl file is created in [DRIVE_LETTER]system32Spool PRINTERS[RANDOM].spl. Note the Windows’ default print spooler directory is %System%spoolprinters.”
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