Copiers are also a compliance issue

To properly discuss security issues related to multi-function peripheral (MFPs) - devices that copy, print, scan and fax - it's helpful to first have some background on the underlying technology in the machines that have raised so much concern as a possible data security risk.

Just 10 years ago, copiers used analog systems and were stand-alone devices that did one thing – made copies on paper. The "new generation of copiers," including all those manufactured today, uses digital technology, similar to that found in laser printers.

The older analog copiers produced a copy by scanning an image to an electrostatically charged photoconductive drum that transferred the toner to paper to make a print. Each time a new copy was made, the drum was cleaned and the previous image was erased.

However, in a digital copier, the scanned document is converted to a digital file and is temporarily stored in the copier until a copy is made. The image of the document may reside in the copier until it is overwritten or deleted from the copier memory or hard drive.

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