New Era of Print Security: Multivendor Fleets Face Elevated Risks as AI and Quantum Threats Intensify
London, UK, 9th July 2025: Quocirca’s Print Security Landscape 2025 Study* has identified a significant security gap between the 59% of organisations operating multi-vendor print fleets and their counterparts operating single-vendor fleets:
- Print-related data breaches cost an average of £630,000 for businesses with standardised fleets but rise to £937,000 for those with multi-vendor fleets. Multi-vendor fleets owners are almost twice as likely to report business disruption as a result of a print-related breach than those with single-vendor fleets.
- More than one-third of IT Decision Makers (ITDMs) with mixed fleets are concerned about sensitive documents being printed, compared to only 19% of standardised fleet operators.
- ITDMs in organisations with multi-vendor fleets are also more concerned about AI threats to devices, with 49% saying it is very important that vendors protect against AI threats, compared to 28% of those with standardised fleets.
Quocirca CEO Louella Fernandes comments: “Previous Quocirca studies have identified multi-vendor fleet security weakness, and this year’s findings indicate that the gap is increasing. New printers and MFPs are increasingly connected and sophisticated, but legacy devices remain an important part of many companies’ print infrastructure. Integrating these older devices with centralised security management platforms can be difficult, while maintaining patches and updates is an administrative burden. Organisations with mixed fleets must allocate more time and budget to maintaining an adequate security posture and should consider specialist mixed-fleet management solutions.”
Budgets rise alongside security concerns and expectations around AI and quantum computing
Organisations continue to suffer print-related security breaches. Fifty-six percent reported at least one data loss in the past year. Reflecting this continuing risk and the escalating threat environment, IT decision-makers expect print security spend to increase by an average of 13% in the coming year, rising to 16% among those operating multi-vendor fleets.
Key concerns that they will seek to address with additional budget include:
- Securing home printing, which is a top concern for 28% of ITDMs and a top factor in data loss incidents for 53%.
- Protecting documents from unauthorised printing (28%)
- Identifying vulnerabilities within print infrastructure (25%)
ITDMs also showed awareness of AI potential and pitfalls, with 41% stating that it is important that vendors use AI and machine learning to identify and manage print security risks, and 40% saying they are concerned that AI will be used to target their print infrastructure.Two-thirds believe it is extremely or very relevant that they look to OEMs to develop quantum-resistant print devices that they would expect to adopt within their print environment in future.
Louella continues: “Vendors are responding to IT decision makers’ high expectations of vendors around the development of AI and quantum computing-based security solutions. Significant advances from leading companies in the past year include quantum-resistant printers, zero-trust solutions, AI-powered platforms, content and authentication solutions.”
Fragmented approach to print authentication creates challenges
Despite the availability of sophisticated authentication solutions for new devices, the study shows that most organisations currently implement a patchwork of measures. Forty-seven percent say they use Windows authentication, and the same percentage say they use devices passwords/PINs. Thirty-eight percent use biometric authentication, 37% use mobile authentication, and only 34% use proximity cards.
This creates significant security and management challenges. Without a unified system, IT teams face increased complexity in enforcing consistent access policies, auditing user activity, and responding effectively to security breach attempts.
Louella advises: “Organisations should integrate print authentication with a broader, centralised identity and access management (IAM) framework. Solutions offering seamless, strong authentication across the entire print fleet will enhance security posture, improve user experience and streamline IT administration. There is a clear opportunity here for MPS providers to expand service offerings as strategic security advisors to create more resilient, manageable client print environments.”
Comprehensive vendor analysis
Quocirca’s Print Security Landscape 2025 includes comprehensive analysis of print security solutions from leading OEMs and Independent Software Vendors, alongside recommendations for print security buyers and suppliers.
The participating OEMs are: Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Katun, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Ricoh, Sharp, Toshiba and Xerox. Featured ISVs include MPS Monitor and Symphion.
*Quocirca industry survey conducted among 400 IT decision makers involved in print infrastructure in their organisation in May/June 2025.
