David McCann, CFO.com | US
July 29, 2010

Very Good Points Raised

I have to say how impressed I have been from the detailed information given by Sharp and Xerox on this matter. We deal with many brands of digital photocopiers and its refreshing to see manufacturers reassurance. Sadly some manufacturers have been less forthcoming with information and if require advice on copier security for other manufacturers my company will provide free advice. Our Contact details available at http://www.onlineconnect.co.uk/

Posted by Jennifer Robinson | Aug 11, 2010 6:54 PM ET

Copier Security

As the VP of Product Marketing for Sharp, I strongly support the increased awareness of this critical topic. For over 8 Years Sharp has been advertising this issue on TV, Radio and Print. In addition, all of our product literature features a section on the risks of a MFP Hard Drive and what protections can be taken. Sharp has been the only manufacturer to do so. We encourage people to go to Sharpusa.com/security to download several documents on all the ways you can secure your information.

Posted by Mike Marusic | Aug 10, 2010 1:25 PM ET

Software maintenance

David, thanks for writing on this important topic. As product security manager for Xerox, we recognize the critical importance of securing the hard drive in a copier. Most of our Xerox multifunction printers (MFPs) actually come standard with a free Image Overwrite feature that electronically shreds information stored on the hard disk. However, Mike Rossander makes a great point regarding how most companies routinely push out patches to networked computers, but often fail to do the same for networked copiers ? leaving these machines as much at risk as the hard drive on a PC. Xerox regularly posts patches for all of our machines. With new threats developing on a daily basis, there will always be a need to update the software that runs your copiers, or any networked peripheral including printers, fax machines and scanners. The truth is software of all types needs to be updated as new vulnerabilities are detected. More tips for security data, along with a listing of the latest patches available for Xerox machines, can be found at http://www.xerox.com/security.

Posted by Larry Kovnat | Aug 4, 2010 4:55 PM ET