Computer Security: Printing confidentially

Have you ever hesitated to print a confidential document using CERN printers? Or perhaps you have rushed quickly to the printer after hitting the “print” button in order to avoid someone else getting hold of and reading your document? These times are over now with the new printing infrastructure!

Indeed, many of us regularly print out confidential documents like our salary slips, MARS forms, tendering documents and drafts of preliminary papers. The upcoming CERN data protection policy will require all of us to respect the confidentiality of such documents and, as the word “confidential” implies, access to “confidential” or sensitive documents will be tightly controlled. What can we do about the public printers located in many buildings, floors and shared spaces - accessible not only to CERN staff and users but also to visitors and guests? Some printers are located in the vicinity of restaurants, cafeterias or close to paths taken by visit groups. Of course, this contradicts the need for privacy when printing confidential documents. 

Thanks to the CERN Print Service, the new printing infrastructure is now capable of ensuring the confidentiality of your documents: you can send a print job that is not printed until you input a PIN code at the machine. So the next time you have to print such a document, go to “Printer Properties” (1) and select the “Secure Print” method (2). Once you hit the “Print” button, you will get another dialog box asking you to provide a PIN number (3). On the right, you'll find screenshots of the different steps on the Windows platform. Instructions for Linux and Mac OS can be found in this ServiceNow knowledge base article.

 

After you have provided the PIN, your document will be queued for the printer of your choice. For easy PIN input on the printer, we recommend you use any Canon machine. The printer will hold your document for the next 12 hours (4 hours on some models). Once you are at the machine, hit the “SCAN/PRINT” button, choose “Secure Print” (4), select the document you want to print (5), hit “Print”, and punch in your PIN (6) (Note: this sequence may vary between printer models).

Your document is printed only after providing the correct PIN. And as you are now standing beside the printer, you can be confident that your confidential document is being handled confidentially.

P. S. Respect the environment. Don’t print unless it is necessary. Confidential documents which are not printed at all are less likely to slip out of your control!

For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

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by Stefan Lueders, Computer Security Team