What Does Xerox Have to do with Security?
I’ve had the privilege of leading the panel discussions and audience interaction sessions during a series of Security Summits that began this spring at the historic Boston Stock Exchange and concluded last week at the pinnacle of Chase tower in Phoenix. At each event we were met by enthusiastic companies that have a genuine concern about security.
And yet, most people would probably not think of Xerox when they think of security. The fact of the matter is Xerox has not only been thinking about security for a long time, it’s been acting on it as well. Here’s why. Xerox has more than 50,000 patents worldwide, including 12,000 in the United States. That is the equivalent of two patents a day. Before these ideas were formally protected under the patent law, they were trade secrets. If trade secrets are not properly inventoried, classified, and controlled by handling policy and procedure, they are vulnerable to theft, loss, and/or misappropriation. This understanding became a part of the Xerox culture and this is the bottom line: Xerox does not sell security; it delivers it in products, services, and innovative technologies. “We deliver quality and excellence in all we do” is one of six core values that guided Xerox over the years and since its inception. I would suggest that you cannot have ‘quality and excellence’ in a product and not have security. A quality product is a secure one. From the drawing board to the production line, all components and sub-systems of the device are designed and delivered with security in mind. Additionally, they are subjected to rigorous third party laboratory evaluation and Common Criteria certification for added assurance of security performance.
This holistic approach to security extends beyond the product to the fleet where an entirely new host of security implications are introduced to a customers enterprise network. Having dynamic software tools to manage operations is essential to the holistic security model. Innovative technologies and print mark solutions provide document control and accountability as they ‘round-trip’ the paper and digital worlds. All important considerations in mitigating risk in today’s global enterprise environment.
For more of my thoughts on this, check out the interview I did with Dan Verton, Security Summit panelist and vice president and executive editor of Homeland Defense Media.
David Drab
Principal, Information Content Security Services
Xerox Global Services