In 2019, cybersecurity experts predict an uptick in attacks on unprotected IoT devices, including printers, as companies begin to recognize printer security risks. There will be a heightened focus on document protection and compliance due to tougher regulations, with an increase in mobile printing from unsecured devices. Automation and unification of print processes will become essential to reduce human error and enhance security in organizations.

1. Top 19 Predictions from
Cybersecurity Experts
Printer & Document Security in 2019

2. Bill DeStefanis
Director Product
Strategy –
Imaging, Nuance
Joseph Steinberg
CISSP, ISSAP, ISSMP,
CSSLP, Cybersecurity
& Emerging
Technologies Advisor
Stacy Leidwinger
VP of Product –
Imaging, Nuance
Tracey Mustacchio
Senior VP Product,
R&D, Marketing –
Imaging, Nuance
Anthony Vigliotti
Senior Director
Product Management
– Imaging, Nuance
Shahid Shah
CTO,
Citus Health, Inc.
Dan Lohrmann
Chief Security
Officer, Security
Mentor, Inc.
Shira Rubinoff
Cybersecurity Advisor,
Thought Leader,
Author & Influencer
Scott Schober
Cybersecurity
Expert & Author
of Hacked Again
Steven C. Morgan
Founder & Editor-in-
Chief, Cybercrime
Magazine

3. In 2019...
Hackers will zero in on
unprotected IoT devices
—including printers

4. 1 “The Printers-of-Things will be under attack in 2019
as cybercriminals zero in on unprotected devices in
small to mid-sized businesses and large enterprises.”
Steven C. Morgan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Cybercrime Magazine

5. 2 “Just over a month ago, a hacker successfully forced
50,000 printers to print a message asking people to
follow a YouTube account. All the hacker had to do was
use an automated printing tool and print to the first
50,000 printers discovered using a vulnerable-device
search system. Nothing of note has been done to prevent
similar future breaches—we will see more of them.”
Joseph Steinberg, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Advisor

6. 3 “Cybercrime damages are predicted to cost the world
$6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015.
The cost of cyberattacks on organizations of all types
and sizes will continue rising in 2019.”
Steven C. Morgan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Cybercrime Magazine

7. In 2019...
Printers will become
increasingly smart
and interconnected

8. 4 “Consumers are becoming used to interacting with
items like TVs, speakers, refrigerators, and door bells
through companion apps. As IoT expands to workplace
MFPs and printers, workers will expect a unified
and simple experience across their line of business
applications and office hardware.”
Anthony Vigliotti, Senior Director Product Management – Imaging, Nuance

9. 5 “With the growth of AI and Machine Learning, we
will have higher expectations of our print management
solutions. We will want the system to remember our
preferences, learn our habits (like what we print most),
and make recommendations such as what we should
store digitally in a CMS vs. print altogether.”
Stacy Leidwinger, Vice President of Product – Imaging, Nuance

10. In 2019...
Companies will be
forced to recognize
printer security risks

11. 6 “We will finally start to see printers being treated as
untrusted IoT and hackable embedded devices. They
will no longer be seen as ‘safe desktop companions’
or ‘privileged network devices’ like they are now.”
Shahid Shah, CTO, Citus Health, Inc.

12. 7 “Printers will be further targeted by cybercriminals in
what I am calling DDoP (Distributed Denial of Printing).
The attacks will be widespread where all internet
connected printers, wired or wireless, will be attacked
and flooded with traffic data rendering them useless
to employees—creating general workflow disruption.”
Scott Schober, Cybersecurity Expert & Author of ‘Hacked Again’

13. 8 “More old vulnerabilities will cause new problems
for IoT devices—including printers and scanners.
Just as this 10-year-old flaw was discovered in 2018,
get ready for more old problems to become new in
2019. This pushes enterprises to take another look
at their patching strategies.”
Dan Lohrmann, Chief Security Officer, Security Mentor, Inc.

14. In 2019...
Document protection
will become a highly-
prioritized focus

15. 9 “Data stored in printer and scanner caches will
become a popular repository for digital dumpster
divers and a haven for cybercriminals. They will be
able to steal anything that was ever printed, long
after it was shredded.”
Scott Schober, Cybersecurity Expert & Author of ‘Hacked Again’

16. 10 “Organizations that are already using various data
loss prevention (DLP) methods will look to extend
their protection capabilities to documents that are
being printed or scanned on MFPs and printers.”
Bill DeStefanis, Director Product Strategy – Imaging, Nuance

17. 11 “State-sponsored hackers will initiate more focused
remote attacks to steal government documents
from unsecured network printers throughout the
U.S. government. This theft will include personal
information as well as IP (Intellectual Property).”
Scott Schober, Cybersecurity Expert & Author of ‘Hacked Again’

18. In 2019...
Tougher regulations will
drive the need for better
print management

19. 12 “Compliance will be the top driver for investment
in print management software as companies will
look for ways to automate processes in print and
document workflows.”
Stacy Leidwinger, Vice President of Product – Imaging, Nuance

20. 13 “Printer security gaps will impact compliance.
HIPAA breaches can be caused by hidden malware
on printers. Once malware is installed onto printers,
the files meant to be printed will print (to remove
suspicion) but files can also be silently redirected
to hackers outside the network.”
Shahid Shah, CTO, Citus Health, Inc.

21. “Companies will need help accurately monitoring
and reporting on document movements to meet
increasingly stringent regulations. Automatically-
generated audit trails and alerts for abnormal
behavior will help reduce both the costs of
compliance audits and fines from failing audits.”
Stacy Leidwinger, Vice President of Product – Imaging, Nuance
14

22. In 2019...
BYOD demand will rise
along with printing from
unsecured devices

23. 15 “As people become more accustomed to working
on their mobile phones, we will see an increase in
mobile usage for work. Employees will be printing,
manipulating layouts, and initiating workflows from
their mobile device instead of going to the MFP.”
Tracey Mustacchio, Senior VP Product, R&D, Marketing – Imaging, Nuance

24. “More malware will find its way to network-connected
printers from unsecured mobile devices, as individuals
will be working less at the MFP and more from their
phones and tablets.”
Stacy Leidwinger, Vice President of Product – Imaging, Nuance
16

25. In 2019...
Companies will use
automation & unification
to reduce human error

26. 17 “Organizations understand that the weakest link
in the security chain is the human. The adoption
of cyber hygiene within an organization will become
more prevalent because the strategy of making the
employee part of the solution, not the problem, will
yield a cyber-secure environment.”
Shira Rubinoff, Cybersecurity Advisor, Thought Leader, Author & Influencer

27. 18 “The best way to combat security risks that come
along with print is to automate print processes
and build policies that reduce human error. More
companies will add automation to their print
management.”
Stacy Leidwinger, Vice President of Product – Imaging, Nuance

28. “We’ll continue to see a unification of disparate
business systems, including printers and MFPs,
where the underlying systems still exist with common
usage of data, IT infrastructure, and user experiences.”
Anthony Vigliotti, Senior Director Product Management – Imaging, Nuance
19

29. In 2019...
Hackers will zero in on unprotected IoT devices—including printers
Printers will become increasingly smart and interconnected
Companies will be forced to recognize printer security risks
Document protection will become a highly-prioritized focus
Tougher regulations will drive the need for better print management
BYOD demand will rise along with printing from unsecured devices
Companies will use automation & unification to reduce human error

30. Learn about the gaps in your print security:
nuance.com/DocumentsAreDangerous