As you probably know, the POPI Act has come into effect as of the 1st of July 2020 in South Africa and companies have been given a further grace period of 12 months to ensure compliance, thereafter no mercy will be shown for companies found to be non-compliant!
So, the question is…..is your company compliant?
This question often comes up, and the answer to it is certainly yes. Your printing devices connect to nearly every device in your corporate network and most printers are not even designed with cyber security in mind. If hackers are hungry enough for information they will use any possible way to get “inside’’ your network. Their intent is to get access and control of your printer and from there your network. If they have access to the network, they will have control over your data.
The hackers want data that contains sensitive information that they can use to harm your company financially or place malicious software on your network to bring your business to its knees, harming your company’s IT infrastructure.
According to South African Law, everyone has the right to privacy (Section 14 of Constitution of South Africa, 1996). The right to privacy includes a right to protection against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information. What does this mean in the World of Printing? It means pages printed with personal information need to be controlled, but how do you do this?
There are many ways to reduce your printing costs. Some quick fixes to lower costs include adjusting your settings to only allow documents to be printed in black and white or duplex (double-sided). You could also educate users to only print in colour when it is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, many of these methods are difficult to maintain and they do not allow for complete control over your printing environment. If you want a more sustainable and controlled print environment, the answer lies with Print Management Software.
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