Every day, printed documents, and the information contained within them, are exposed to a variety of threats. Whether it’s the growing menace of identity theft, continuing problems with counterfeiting and corporate espionage, or the various forms of fraud, print can be exploited by virtually anyone with the interest and motivation to do so.
Preventing these threats requires the institution and enforcement of corporate policies and guidelines as well as a means in which the printed material itself becomes a first line of defense, undermining the opportunities for criminal behavior to take root. In looking at the latter of these, there are two aspects of print security that should be considered: ensuring the authenticity of printed documents and guarding sensitive data contained within them.
Along with IT-based solutions such as Digital Rights Management, actively preventing fraud based on printed materials can play an important part in an Information Risk Management strategy designed to mitigate enterprise risk.
Ensuring Document Authenticity
Ensuring document authenticity requires that a document is both copy-proof and resistant to imitation or reproduction. Copy-proofing printed materials can be accomplished through a variety of means including the use of special inks and papers that reveal hidden characteristics upon scan or duplication. Unfortunately, many of the materials and techniques used in copy protection may be also available to the most determined offenders, hence one might consider embedding additional security features such as hidden keys and serial numbers to achieve an extremely high degree of certainty of a document’s authenticity.
Guarding Sensitive Data
Hiding sensitive information contained within printed materials from unwanted view presents an altogether different challenge than that of ensuring document authenticity. Shredding, while commonly thought of as a means or safeguarding sensitive printed information, only addresses the issue at the end of life of the documents, not during their extended period of use. To effectively protect sensitive data from unwanted eyes, it is possible to use print to effective encode information and make it visible to only those who possess the means of viewing such information.
To learn more about how you can you can prevent a variety of criminal acts, visit the following pages on Identity Theft, Counterfeiting, Fraud and Corporate Espionage.