Japanese print technology manufacturer Ricoh has warned global customers that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games which begin this week could increase the risk of data security breaches.
In a message titled, Caution: Potential increase in data security risk due to a major international event, Ricoh advised customers to “review information regarding appropriate settings and management of Ricoh products to ensure their safe usage.
“Along with the development of the information society, we are facing various threats, such as computer viruses, personal information leakage and unauthorized access.
“In such situations, it is important to take the necessary security measures for everybody. This is important not only for PCs, servers and networks, but also for other products and services."
Some of the security measures recommended by Ricoh include:
Use products on a protected network
Use products without connecting to the network, or use them only in a closed network
To prevent unauthorized access from the internet, unless necessary, please use products without connecting to the network. If it is necessary to communicate with other equipment via the intranet, please do not connect to the internet, but instead connect only to your intranet network.
Use products only in secured networks such as firewalls
Please do not connect products directly to the internet. Please use them only in a secured network with a firewall or broadband router.
Use a private IP address
If a global IP address is set to a product, it is at risk of being accessed by an unspecified number of internet users and the security risk of information leakage increases. But, if a private IP address is set, the product can be accessed only by intranet or local network. So, please set a private IP address to products.
Some products have a function that allows communication with only devices that have IP addresses or MAC addresses. Please turn on this function to minimize the number of users with access.
To prevent information leakage and tampering, please use encrypted data communications such as HTTPS for products with such communication features.
Regarding available communication methods, please refer to the user manual of your product. During setup, please use stronger encryption methods and set the certification properly.
Use VPN
Updated firmware and security patches are provided for each product in order to improve security issues. So, please upload and use the latest software to minimize security risk.
For further information, visit www.ricoh.com
Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group has major operations throughout the world and its products and services now reach customers in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2021, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,682 billion yen ($US15.1 billion).
(photo courtesy Runner's World)
