{"id":32718,"date":"2019-01-17T09:34:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=32718"},"modified":"2019-01-17T09:34:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:34:55","slug":"configuration-watchdog-feature-enhances-security-provisions-for-xeroxs-altalink-workplace-assistants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2019\/01\/configuration-watchdog-feature-enhances-security-provisions-for-xeroxs-altalink-workplace-assistants\/","title":{"rendered":"Configuration Watchdog Feature Enhances Security Provisions for Xerox\u2019s AltaLink Workplace Assistants"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

With a new tablet-like user experience, Xerox AltaLink Multifunction Printers make completing daily tasks faster and easier with a customizable home screen<\/p><\/div>\n

Xerox knows that the next best thing to having a junkyard dog stalking the perimeter of your AltaLink MFP, thus ensuring its security, is to have one built into the device\u2026sans the mess and noise associated with an actual canine.<\/p>\n

The venerable manufacturer recently made software enhancements to their Workplace Assistants\u2014enabled with ConnectKey technology\u2014that allows companies to monitor their critical security settings and automatically reset unauthorized changes, thus curtailing security breaches. The Configuration Watchdog enables administrators to monitor the compliance requirements of up to eight security settings. When Configuration Watchdog detects unauthorized changes, it will remediate them to their compliance state. Admins will receive notification alerts if the unapproved changes could not be remediated.<\/p>\n

According to Zia Masoom, director of worldwide product marketing for Xerox, Configuration Watchdog is a feature within the utility that monitors a company\u2019s security settings such as McAfee Whitelisting, data encryption, disc\/job overwrite, audit logs and scan to USB\u2014settings that are mostly enabled when shipped to the customer. These clients will enable or disable functions based on company policies\/needs.<\/p>\n

Configuration Access Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"The challenge many customers explained to Xerox is that typically a company will have more than one person will have the admin password, thus be able to access different configurations for the AltaLink devices, including the security settings. For example, in addition to the IT administrator, someone in charge of training may have password access. If others with admin access are not familiar with the security policies, they may inadvertently change the security settings, Masoom notes. Now, once the settings are initially engaged, Configuration Watchdog will provide immediate notifications and remediations for both inadvertent and malicious changes.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Zia Masoom, Xerox<\/p><\/div>\n

The alerts will also indicate if remediation is unsuccessful, although Masoom is confident this will be more of an exception than the rule. \u201c(The alerts) are an added level of comfort that if remediation doesn\u2019t work, at least the system admin will be notified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike other software such Xerox\u2019s Device Manager, which is a separate tool that requires a server, Configuration Watchdog is embedded in the base software of each AltaLink MFP (the free upgrade is available here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s important to most customers is they want to have the ability to monitor security settings right on the device, they don\u2019t want to buy a separate security software to monitor settings,\u201d Masoom said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to have another server set up, as is the case of third-party options that are available.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest AltaLink enhancements enable companies to meet NIST 800-171 standards, which govern the security of data in non-federal information systems and organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cCybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated and so is Xerox\u2019s response,\u201d said Dr. Alissa J. Abdullah, chief information security officer, Xerox.\u00a0\u201cWe take a proactive approach to device, data and document security that puts organizations on the offensive when it comes to threat detection and response.\u201d<\/p>\n

For additional protection, the AltaLink MFPs include support for ThinPrint print management software, featuring end-to-end encryption, as well as efficient compression and streaming of print data, delivering faster output speeds.<\/p>\n

AltaLink delivers new time-saving features <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Tracey Koziol,
Xerox Corp.<\/p><\/div>\n

With a tablet-like user experience, AltaLink makes completing daily tasks faster and easier with new features such as:<\/p>\n

Customizable home screen<\/strong>: enables touchscreen re-ordering of frequently used apps and features to place the \u001bmost popular ones at the top for easy access.<\/p>\n

1-Touch App:<\/strong> simplifies complicated and lengthy workflows by creating shortcuts, such as scanning to email without typing an email address or creating booklets with a single touch; these 1-Touch Apps can be cloned and shared among multiple devices.<\/p>\n

Fleet Orchestrator:<\/strong> automatically deploys software upgrades and tedious configuration changes across multiple devices. A single device, designated as the host, securely shares updates with the remaining fleet, reducing device downtime and manual IT intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese updates articulate\u00a0and demonstrate Xerox\u2019s commitment to securing information and simplifying business processes for our customers,\u201d said Tracey Koziol, senior vice president, Global Offerings, Xerox. \u201cOur Workplace Assistants boost IT management efficiency and employee productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xerox knows that the next best thing to having a junkyard dog stalking the perimeter of your AltaLink MFP, thus ensuring its security, is to have one built into the device\u2026sans the mess and noise associated with an actual canine. The venerable manufacturer recently made software enhancements to their Workplace Assistants\u2014enabled with ConnectKey technology\u2014that allows companies to monitor their critical security settings and automatically reset unauthorized changes, thus curtailing security breaches. The Configuration Watchdog enables administrators to monitor the compliance requirements of up to eight security settings. When Configuration Watchdog detects unauthorized changes, it will remediate them to their compliance state. Admins will receive notification alerts if the unapproved changes could not be remediated. According to Zia Masoom, director of worldwide product marketing for Xerox, Configuration Watchdog is a feature within the utility that monitors a company\u2019s security settings such as McAfee Whitelisting, data encryption, disc\/job overwrite, audit logs and scan to USB\u2014settings that are mostly enabled when shipped to the customer. These clients will enable or disable functions based on company policies\/needs. Configuration Access Issues The challenge many customers explained to Xerox is that typically a company will have more than one person will have the admin password, thus be able to access different configurations for the AltaLink devices, including the security settings. For example, in addition to the IT administrator, someone in charge of training may have password access. If others with admin access are not familiar with the security policies, they may inadvertently change the security settings, Masoom notes. Now, once the settings are initially engaged, Configuration Watchdog will provide immediate notifications and remediations for both inadvertent and malicious changes. The alerts will also indicate if remediation is unsuccessful, although Masoom is confident this will be more of an exception than the rule. \u201c(The alerts) are an added level of comfort that if remediation doesn\u2019t work, at least the system admin will be notified.\u201d Unlike other software such Xerox\u2019s Device Manager, which is a separate tool that requires a server, Configuration Watchdog is embedded in the base software of each AltaLink MFP (the free upgrade is available here). \u201cWhat\u2019s important to most customers is they want to have the ability to monitor security settings right on the device, they don\u2019t want to buy a separate security software to monitor settings,\u201d Masoom said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to have another server set up, as is the case of third-party options that are available.\u201d The latest AltaLink enhancements enable companies to meet NIST 800-171 standards, which govern the security of data in non-federal information systems and organizations. \u201cCybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated and so is Xerox\u2019s response,\u201d said Dr. Alissa J. Abdullah, chief information security officer, Xerox.\u00a0\u201cWe take a proactive approach to device, data and document security that puts organizations on the offensive when it comes to threat detection and response.\u201d For additional protection, the AltaLink MFPs include support for ThinPrint print management software, featuring end-to-end encryption, as well as efficient compression and streaming of print data, delivering faster output speeds. AltaLink delivers new time-saving features With a tablet-like user experience, AltaLink makes completing daily tasks faster and easier with new features such as: Customizable home screen: enables touchscreen re-ordering of frequently used apps and features to place the \u001bmost popular ones at the top for easy access. 1-Touch App: simplifies complicated and lengthy workflows by creating shortcuts, such as scanning to email without typing an email address or creating booklets with a single touch; these 1-Touch Apps can be cloned and shared among multiple devices. Fleet Orchestrator: automatically deploys software upgrades and tedious configuration changes across multiple devices. A single device, designated as the host, securely shares updates with the remaining fleet, reducing device downtime and manual IT intervention. \u201cThese updates articulate\u00a0and demonstrate Xerox\u2019s commitment to securing information and simplifying business processes for our customers,\u201d said Tracey Koziol, senior vice president, Global Offerings, Xerox. \u201cOur Workplace Assistants boost IT management efficiency and employee productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":32720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,1638],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32718"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32718"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32724,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32718\/revisions\/32724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}