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Security continues to be a major focus of IT managers worldwide. And no one is immune to these threats. This week's headlines that 10 major US-based banks' Web sites are being targeted for denial of service [DoS] is the latest story in this arena. But even looking back in 2012 to the number of higher education institutions threatened with terror attacks is enough to convince even skeptics that unless every aspect of your business plan thinks of security protections, just trying to "do your job" can put you in a very tough spot in the blink of an eye.
Most physical threats do not involve the IT department. But beyond interruptions to service, stolen or compromised data, records, and personal information is the biggest concern for IT managers. Especially in industries where government regulatory bodies have a lot of oversight, improperly handled information opens managers up to civil, or worse, criminal penalties. Sure you, as a great technologist, have a virus scanner in place for your email configuration, a firewall for your hardware, and organization-wide password standards. But every aspect of your IT configuration needs to include a security component.
With that in mind, ROC has thought about potential security breaches involving our software in both areas of batch job scheduling and print output management. ROC approaches security a couple ways with its products. Both functional areas carry potential for severe risks to the overall organization. For this week’s blog, let’s focus on a high level view of security in print output management.
Print output involves customer, client, employee and general business information being made available to whomever can pick it up. While lost or stolen output might not have immediate consequences, the impacts to stakeholders will be just as severe as a business shutdown and usually longer lasting when identities are involved. Let's be blunt: mess up in any of these areas and a manager's job is on the line but worse, you could find yourself in court defending your actions.
For our EasySpooler and ROC Rhapsody print output products we provide complete records of who sent what, to where and when it occurred. More importantly, when output does not reach its expected destination, ROC's products can tell you why and how to remedy the situation so that the job is completed. Securely.