Cybersecurity is important when it comes to printers, and Konica Minolta knows this. Printers have been targets for hackers, because they can get access to an entire network by exposing a weakness. Konica Minolta has worked hard to make sure their printers have achieved a high-level of protection. Recently, NTT Data and NTT Ltd. completed testing on the bizhub i-Series and found that the entire i-Series line exceeds the standards of cybersecurity compliance. NTT DATA and NTT Ltd. found no vulnerabilities when testing the printers.

While Konica Minolta complies with different compliance measures, such as HIPAA, they wanted to make sure that they went above just the standards. Konica Minolta let NTT DATA and NTT Ltd. perform penetration tests on their i-Series printers. Penetration tests are a version of hacking where a simulated cyber attack is performed to see how well the cybersecurity works. NTT DATA tested the printers and the source code to see how well they would perform and found that they were well above the standards. NTT DATA spent almost 80 hours trying to hack the devices and could not find any major security flaws.

Konica Minolta continues to pride itself to not only meeting the standards, but exceeding them. This is important for businesses because protecting the information of customers should be a priority and Konica Minolta helps reduce the chances of hackers taking information.

Faxing has been around for decades; however, it could be reaching the end of use in the healthcare industry. Faxing is perceived to be safe. This is partly due to how old it is. Faxing uses a phone line to send its information. However, this means it could be tapped and then all of the information that was sent would have been accessed by unwanted parties. So what is the answer for this?

Recently, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the Direct Standard. Direct Standard at its core is direct secure messaging. This new standard allows for health data to be sent digitally. The health data that will be sent will be authenticated and encrypted and goes to verified users. Now that this standard has been approved by ANSI, how can healthcare providers take advantage of this?

Konica Minolta has answers. Konica Minolta has the Healthcare Multifunction Printer, which is a five function printer. The five functions are copy, scan, print, fax and exchange. Exchange is a must for secure exchange of patient information. An example for this is a hospital discharging a patient to a long-term care provider. While the hospital has the ability to use Direct Messaging, the long-term care provider does not. This means the hospital has to use fax, which is not as safe and can cause delays.

 

Konica Minolta’s Healthcare Multifunction Printers are great for multiple reasons. The first is the enhanced security of protected health information. This minimizes the exposure to HIPAA violations, which can be damaging and costly. It also increases the accuracy and timeliness of healthcare information.

Konica Minolta’s Direct Messaging comes from a partnership with Kno2. Kno2 is a company that works to optimize the patient document exchange. This partnership allows for the Kno2 interoperability to be integrated with the control panel on Konica Minolta multifunction printers.

With more and more things becoming digital, it is important for businesses to secure their information. However, this sounds easier than it actually is. Some companies do not have the resources to keep a constant eye on their security and look for potential threats or weaknesses. Another issue is that security and their systems are becoming more complex. Without this complexity, there would be holes in the security that would allow for vulnerabilities. Konica Minolta has years of experience and can evaluate areas where security is important and relevant. Konica Minolta can offer the right security solutions and services for IT security, data security, multifunctional system security and intelligent video solutions security.

 Focusing only on network and IT security can leave you open to potential security gaps and threats. Different devices that are used every day, such as a tablet in the field, all have the potential to be an attack point. Another thing that happens is that while they are equipped correctly, they do not use the security solutions properly or they do not have policies in place. Konica Minolta frequently encounters a lack of network access controls or passwords that are adequate, which leaves the business vulnerable. Furthermore, certain aspects can be neglected, which can leave important data on hard drives or solid state drives at risk. Forrester Research found out that two thirds of companies have had a data breach due to a vulnerability in hardware security. Lastly, the employees play a key part in security as well. Having well informed employees who can detect a social engineering attack, which works by having the employee click on a malicious link in an email.

Konica Minolta uses 360-Degree Strategy to provide comprehensive security. To achieve this, Konica Minolta looks at printer device security, IT security, video security, and through information security consulting. This approach is based on the premise that if you only focus on one or two of the areas, that there will still be areas of vulnerability.

Multifunctional printers (MFPs) are more than just a printer or copier and have to have proper security to protect that information and data that goes through the MFP or is stored on it. Bizhub SECURE works to cover three areas, which include access control and access security, storage media data security and network security. One aspect that is important is that while these security measures should provide protection, it should never come at the expense of usability. This is not because it might slow down productivity, but because if the users view the security measures as a hinder to them, they are less likely to comply and follow them. Bizhub SECURE Alert and LK-116 BitDefender® Virus Scan Functions are things that Konica Minolta offer as security measures to help protect MFPs.

IT security begins with evaluating risks. Analysis of risks and having contingency plans increase the awareness of risk, while also reducing the chance of possible damage. Deloitte did a study and found that 58% of companies have an emergency plan. Konica Minolta has almost 20 years of experience and uses this when evil sting business and finding what each individual business’ needs are and then create specific security measures in a detailed plan for the business.

Video security can be used by a business to protect valuable information. The first step is deciding what needs to be seen, like the door to file cabinets or entrances. The business’ network is considered because the network has to be able to handle the high-resolution recordings that the video security will use. Next the decision has to be made if the video security system will be added on to an existing network or will have a separate network installed. Additionally, data protection is considered when adding a video security system. How long the data is stored is one question that needs to be considered.

Information security consulting is the last part of the 360-degree strategy. Information security is important in protecting data and to a business’ success, while also being required by law due to legal regulations. Appropriate analysis is important when determining what type of protections they need. Employee training is key to emphasizing the importance of information security. One area of information security is access security. This is who can access certain data. The more important or sensitive the data is, the more restrictive the group who has access to it should be. Additionally, when storing data, it should be encrypted so there is additional security on top of a password. The same is true for transporting data. Lastly, if violations occur, protocol data and logs should be available so they can be identified and to check for damage concerns.

Konica Minolta recently released the new i series, 7 new products which are all color. 6 of these new products will replace existing ones, while 1 product is a new model. There are 3 new shared multifunction printers (MFP), 2 new desktop multifunction printers, and 2 new desktop single function printers (SFP). Additionally, Konica Minolta has 1 more product being released in the near future.

The 3 new shared MFPs are the c360i, the c300i, and the c260i. All of the shared MFP offer multiple finishing options, which include various stapling, hole punching, and folding options. Additionally, these 3 shared MFPs include 8 GB of RAM, a 256 GB Solid State Drive, and 10.1″ touchscreen display panel. The c360i prints at 36 pages per minute (PPM), and scanning at 100 ppm in simplex (single sided) and 200 ppm in duplex (double sided). The c300i prints at 30 ppm, and scans at 100 ppm in simplex and 200 ppm in duplex. The c260i prints at 25 ppm, and scans at 100 ppm in simplex and 200 ppm in duplex. All of these printers are improved by features and upgrades that make user experience better. They include a new user interface, mobile connectivity, and improved security features.

The 2 new desktop MFPs are the c4050i and the c3350i. Both of these printers come with 5GB of RAM, a 256GB Solid State Drive, and a 10.1″ touchscreen display panel. The c4050i has printing at 42 ppm, and scanning of 100 ppm in simplex and 200 ppm in duplex. The 2 new desktop SFPs are the c4000i and the c3300i. Both come with 4GB of RAM, and a 7” display panel. The c4000i prints at 42 ppm and the c3300i prints at 35 ppm. All of these printers come with a copier warm up time of 13 seconds for black and white, and 15 seconds for color.

The last product that will be released in the near future is the c3320i, which is an all-in-one (AIO) that will print at 35 ppm.

Augmented Reality is taking an image from a computer or phone and putting it into the real world through a display, which is different from virtual reality. Virtual reality creates a whole new environment, where augmented reality takes the existing environment and adds to it. For example, many apps have augmented reality features. Apple has an app called Measure, which allows users to measure items in real life using their phone. Nike has added a similar feature that measures the user’s foot and suggest the size for different shoes. This is useful for online shopping because some shoes run smaller or larger. While these are useful, there is so much more that augmented reality can be used for.

The future of augmented reality is unknown because there is so much potential. This is even more true if augmented reality glasses become a common item in the world. When traveling, imagine having directions that act as a line on the street, or when shopping for furniture imagine being able to see what it would look like in your house without having to buy it. These are all options that can improve aspects of life. Additionally, just being able to display information onto the screen. Examples could be walking down the street and seeing the ratings of restaurants, or a doctor being able to see the patient’s vitals while preforming the surgery. The possibilities are almost endless.

Technology is making things that seemed impossible before reality. The benefits of these new technological advances will make our lives a better place, by either making certain aspects easier, or making certain unknowns easier to manage.

Just like the VCR, soon the satellite dishes on your house might become obsolete. AT&T, who owns DirecTV, does not plan to buy more satellites and just recently launched their last one. What does this mean for TV? Well it could be going towards a streaming based option. DirecTV NOW is the same as their normal satellite plan, but without the dish. All channels are streamed, like a Netflix show, and the costs are kept lower due to not having to get a dish and the lack of using a satellite.. But this is not the only example of this companies moving away from hardware.

There have been rumors that Xbox plans to have a all-digital console. The “Xbox Maverick” would be a all-digital Xbox One S, which means no disc drive and all games are downloaded to the Xbox. Google also planned a streaming based console called the Google Stadia. This means that games are not downloaded, and instead streamed like Netflix. These changes are showing a shift in media as a digital or streaming based option, and moving away from the old ways of these ideas.

So why is this happening? One reason is that the internet and WiFi has become a standard in houses. Many people use WiFi with their phones, televisions, and other smart devices. Furthermore, it can save costs for companies. Maintaining and buying satellites is not cheap, which is one reason DirecTV could be changing towards a digital model. Xbox has been offering games digitally, and the lack of a disc drive could make the models less expensive to produce which means it is less expensive for customers to buy.

So just as it has happened in the past and will happen in the future, change with technology will occur.  People went from having cell phones that flipped open, to those that have touch screens. Evolution and progress is part of the technology industry, and it is what makes it great.

With many apps and websites, they have a default background color of white. However, there has been the emergence of a dark mode, also known as night mode. What this does is change the background color to a darker color, such as black or dark blue. While many enjoy dark mode for the aesthetics, there are many benefits of using dark mode.

One benefit is that dark mode is that it induces less eye fatigue/eye strain. Employees whose work involves looking at a screen all day will know about eye fatigue, and how it can introduce dry eyes, headaches, and more. Additionally, night mode reduces the amount of blue light that is admitted from screens. Blue light is known to make it difficult to fall asleep, so by reducing the amount of blue light that a person is exposed to, the easier it will be to fall asleep at night.

Another benefit of dark mode is that it saves energy and can improve battery life. This is especially important for phones and laptops. When dark mode is enabled, the phone’s battery is improved. While it depends on how high the device’s brightness is and what device is doing, it is still helpful to know for those who travel, or just use their phones frequently.

Google announced that it would be shutting down Google+, their social network, after a security vulnerability was discovered. While this vulnerability was fixed in March, knowledge of the issue was not known to the public until October of the same year. Google did not inform users that this happened because no one’s user information was taken. Google is under scrutiny because they did not inform users. Congress has questioned why Google did not release information about vulnerability earlier and wants more information. Google believes that the work and resources to maintain Google+ is not worth it, which is why they are shutting it down. The original shut down was scheduled for August of 2019; however, a second leak happened in November and was open for 6 days. This caused Google to move the planned shutdown up to April of 2019. Additionally, all Google+ APIs will shut down on March 7th.

Google+, which was announced in 2011, was aimed to challenge Facebook. Instead it has been in the shadows of Facebook, and other social networking platforms. Google+ did not catch on, and eventually found a niche group of users. Google stated that 90 percent of user’s interaction with Google+ was less than 5 seconds long.