Only 36% of IT Teams Apply Printer Firmware Updates Promptly, Leaving Devices Vulnerable
HP, Thursday, July 17th, 2025
IT teams are spending 3.5 hours per printer each month on security, yet critical gaps in platform security remain that put the enterprise at risk
HP Wolf Security today released a new report - Securing the Print Estate: A Proactive Lifecycle Approach to Cyber Resilience - highlighting the challenges of securing printer hardware and firmware (platform security), and the implications of these failures across every stage of the printer's lifecycle. Based on a global study of 800+ IT and security decision-makers (ITSDMs)1 , the findings show that platform security is being overlooked, leaving concerning security gaps.
Exploring four lifecycle stages, the report reveals that during the Ongoing Management stage, just 36% of ITSDMs apply firmware updates promptly. This is despite IT teams spending 3.5 hours per printer per month managing hardware and firmware security issues. Failure to promptly apply firmware updates to printers unnecessarily exposes organizations to threats that could lead to damaging impacts, such as cybercriminals exfiltrating critical data or hijacking devices.