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If wifi-enabled printers are a bad idea, I'm wondering what kind of printers (brand even perhaps) that secure companies use, such as banks or financial institutions. I would assume these printers don't even have the capability of wifi, that is they are ethernet-only. But searching around I haven't really found anything to start on ethernet-only printers with all the standard security features of secure printers (password protection, encryption, lack of hard drives, etc.).

EdOverflow
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Lance
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    The devices are typically not that things that are secured, but the network segments they run on are secured. And no wifi. – schroeder Dec 30 '18 at 18:00
  • The physical printer itself isn't something you'd normally secure, but the thing you print, and the ability to print it sometimes is. Printing checks is often something that needs additional security. Some companies require that the signature is stored on a separate removable module that can then be taken out when not in use and locked away. This combined with physically securing the blank checks, as well as accounting procedures adds additional security. – Steve Sether Dec 30 '18 at 18:47
  • who trusts printer security anyway. AFAIK these devices usually have their own network together with a maintenance host and jump host – BlueWizard Dec 30 '18 at 20:51

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Mostly they use multifunctional printers of major vendors (I worked for few and I installed printers in banks, government offices, police etc.). They have turned on every possible security features like HDD encryption, SSL communication, password/chip authentication, disabled USB ports etc. Sometimes even customized firmware. As "normal" installation took few minutes, at those places it usually took ten's of minutes. There is also special procedure of replacing old/faulty machine including formating and (multiple) rewriting data on HDD and then certified destruction of HDD.

sodomak
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  • Wondering if there is a particular brand. There's a lot of [HP posts](https://hackernoon.com/did-you-know-that-printers-are-a-major-cyber-attack-vector-eddfbd8f99bb) out there, but it seems half like marketing. – Lance Dec 31 '18 at 01:46
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    @LancePollard we do not tend to offer specific product recommendations. – schroeder Dec 31 '18 at 08:37
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    There is no particular one. Most (if not all) of major vendors offer those settings and features. Then it depends on price, quality of local support etc. – sodomak Dec 31 '18 at 10:48
  • Also wondering if these printers have the capability of wifi, and wifi is turned off, or if they don't even have the capability of wifi to begin with. I have searched for "printers without wifi" but not finding any exist. – Lance Jan 01 '19 at 01:34
  • Bigger MFP's have WiFi as optional feature (PnP card) so it's not included, smaller ("table") printer's WiFi is usually disabled (in admin settings or in service level settings). – sodomak Jan 01 '19 at 12:40