Unprotected Hospital Printers Expose Healthcare Networks to Cyberattacks
Overlooked network printers and connected IoT devices represent a critical vulnerability for healthcare providers facing modern cyber threats.
- By Jesse Jacobs
- Jul 21, 2026
Unprotected connected printers and IoT endpoints represent a major security gap for healthcare organizations, leaving critical patient care networks vulnerable to advanced cyber threats.
In typical Integrated Delivery Networks, printers make up approximately 20% of all connected endpoints. Modern commercial printers now function with the processing power and capabilities of data center servers. However, despite built-in security features provided by manufacturers, the majority of these devices remain unhardened and unmonitored.
Because healthcare systems traditionally procure printers through supply chain channels rather than central IT, standard cybersecurity controls are frequently bypassed. Industry estimates indicate that up to 99% of enterprise printers remain unmonitored, with many operating on default administrator passwords with open network ports.
The problem is further compounded by the operating system diversity among connected devices. Printers and IoT endpoints run on a fragmented landscape of custom Linux-based firmware, making centralized management difficult. Unlike standard servers or personal computers, these endpoints lack unified management protocols like Windows Management Instrumentation, forcing security teams to manage device configurations through proprietary manufacturer software APIs.
Despite these vulnerabilities, physical printing remains essential to healthcare operations, including patient admissions, pharmacy scripts, laboratory reporting and discharge procedures. An incident targeting these endpoints can halt care delivery, trigger regulatory penalties and expose sensitive patient data.
To address this gap, cybersecurity firm Symphion introduced a specialized operations program designed to continuously discover, harden and monitor printer fleets and IoT endpoints across healthcare environments.
The system automates asset discovery and drift detection to identify unauthorized configuration changes twice daily. By standardizing remediation, managing firmware updates and deploying security certificates across disparate manufacturer models, the solution removes the operational burden from internal IT staff while closing a persistent entry point for threat actors.