The Print Problem No One Talks About
While organizations strengthen security across cloud, identity, endpoint, repository, and network, one device often escapes notice – the printer.
Printing may seem harmless, but once a document leaves the digital environment, control over that data is lost. Uncollected pages, shared printers, or insecure multifunction printer devices can easily expose sensitive information to unintended people.
A single careless print job can result in data breaches, regulatory headaches, or worse, a global headline.
Case Study: The Hotel Printer Leak That Embarrassed Diplomacy (2025)
In August 2025, guests at a hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, discovered several pages of confidential information left in the printer tray of the hotel’s business center.
According to reports from NPR, the documents contained details about a planned US and Russia summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The pages listed meeting schedules, catering notes, and even some personal names and phone numbers of involved staff members.
The documents were apparently printed by someone involved in the planning process and then forgotten. Within hours, photos of the printouts spread across social media and international news outlets.
There was no cyberattack, no hacking attempt, and no insider plot. The entire incident began with one minor human error.
What Went Wrong
- Public printer access: The hotel’s business center printer was open to all guests and staff.
- No authentication: Print jobs were produced automatically without verifying who sent them.
- No monitoring: There was no way to trace the user or confirm the source of the print job.
- Simple human error: The user forgot to collect the documents.
This small oversight turned into a global embarrassment, proving that even what should be the world’s most secure organization can lose control of information once it’s printed.
The Need for a Print Security Solution
What is Fasoo Smart Print?
Fasoo Smart Print (FSP) is an enterprise print security solution that controls, monitors, and protects sensitive information in printed form.
Unlike traditional print management tools that only queue and track print jobs, FSP enforces print security policies, embeds traceable dynamic watermarks, leaves a unique identifier, masks confidential content, and logs user activity and actual content.
In short, it transforms an ordinary printer into a secure endpoint, ensuring that confidential data does not leave control without authorization.
How FSP Could Have Prevented the 2025 Hotel Incident
If Fasoo Smart Print had been in place during the 2025 hotel summit preparation, the outcome would have been completely different.
- Watermarking
Each page includes visible watermarks that display the user’s name, time, and unique identifier. These watermarks make each printout individually traceable and discourage careless handling of confidential documents.
- Pull Printing
The pull printing feature ensures that documents are printed only after proper authentication. If the user forgets to authenticate, the job is automatically deleted.
- Automatic Data Masking
The printing solution can automatically detect and mask sensitive information such as credit card numbers, phone numbers, or emails.
- Printing Log and Audit Trail
Fasoo Smart Print records a comprehensive log of all print activities: who printed what, when, and where. Administrators can review the actual printed content, not just the document titles, for full visibility and accountability.
- Policy-Based Print Control
FSP enforces rules based on document sensitivity and user permissions.
- Only authorized personnel can print classified or restricted files.
- Public printers can be blocked when sensitive information is detected.
- Approval workflows can be applied based on user roles.
Extending Zero Trust to Printed Data
The 2025 hotel printer leak reminds us that not every data breach happens online. Sometimes, the biggest exposures begin with a single piece of paper. In today’s compliance-driven world, a single forgotten printout can cost more than a million dollars.
With Fasoo Smart Print, companies gain complete visibility and control over printed information, closing one of the most overlooked gaps in enterprise security. Don’t let printed data become your next blind spot.