Why NHS Providers Should Look Closely at Printer Security

When the WannaCry ransomware attack hit the NHS in 2017, it exposed how quickly outdated systems can be exploited – and the severe impact security breaches can have on healthcare services. 34% of hospital trusts in England and 8% of GPs were disrupted, with staff locked out of critical data, and ambulances diverted.

Some trusts were still reliant on Windows XP at the time, making them hugely vulnerable to such an attack. It means there’s now a greater focus on updates and patches to keep healthcare systems secure.

But clinical networks extend beyond laptops and servers.

What about the other devices that are quietly connected to the same NHS infrastructure and handling information vital to patient care?

After all, it’s not always the phishing links that catch people out. In a world where almost everything is connected to digital systems, every device is at risk of attack. And that includes the printers healthcare workers use to manage prescriptions and patient records.

Why outdated printers present a critical risk to primary care

It can be easy to overlook the role of printing, but it is quietly essential infrastructure that’s in constant use throughout the day to keep care moving. Printers are also often seen as a natural endpoint, moving digital information into the physical realm.

The danger is when they aren’t treated like any other digital device – and not seen as part of the overall network in need of protection. To bad actors, printers are just another potential entry point – and the threat posed by state-backed or private cybercriminals is increasing. In November 2025, NHS England confirmed the Synnovis ransomware incident delayed more than 11,000 outpatient and elective appointments across affected London trusts.

Ultimately, it took 16 weeks from the initial Synnovis attack for trusts to return to normal levels of service – showing again how a single breach can cascade into GP and hospital workflows.

Yet across the NHS, many GP surgeries and community health centres are operating a patchwork of ageing printer models. In some cases, each device requires its service arrangement – making updates and patches harder to keep up with.

Printer issues also go beyond security; they slow down frontline teams and add pressure to already stretched IT managers. Many NHS organisations have extremely stretched IT departments, so updates take even longer to apply.

The result is an inefficient daily burden on medical staff and IT teams – and the more time they spend dealing with printers, the less time they have for patient care.

How modern print security supports NHS security

Many NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are choosing a managed approach to printing – adopting a standardised fleet of compact, prescription-compliant printers and outsourcing management to a single trusted partner.

‘Managed print’ means devices can be procured in a cost-efficient bundle including a care agreement that extends the warranty for up to five years and removes the need for ICBs to run a break-fix service.

But healthcare teams shouldn’t have to, and don’t need to, rely on managed services for effective endpoint security. When buying devices outright, primary care providers still require ultra-reliable printers that integrate seamlessly with clinical systems – and maintain the security of the data within those systems.

Regardless of their purchasing decisions, primary care providers need printers that offer end-to-end protection across their firmware, network and software layers as standard. This treats printers as endpoints and frees primary care staff and IT teams from reactive security management, so they can focus on patients and proactive improvement.

Seven ways to protect primary care through print

When exploring their printer options, healthcare organisations at all levels should look for devices that
deliver the following key benefits:

1. Defence at the firmware level (HP Sure Start): This means that every time the printer starts, it checks its own ‘boot DNA’ (BIOS). If anything looks tampered with, it rolls back to a safe, factory copy by itself. If a consulting room printer gets a corrupted update on Friday, it auto-heals by Monday morning, so prescriptions print and the first clinic isn’t delayed.
2. Secure by default (HP Secure Defaults): Printers should arrive with secure, locked-down settings already switched on, without extra setup or configuration needed to make devices safe. A branch surgery should be able to plug in a replacement printer and know it’s compliant, out of the box.
3. Hardware-level memory protection (HP Memory Shield™): This allows printers to detect and neutralise memory-based intrusions before they can execute. In the case of an attack, it gives each clinic another layer of automatic protection from bad actors looking to access sensitive data.
4. Trusted code execution (HP Allowlisting): Printers should only run software that has been verified and authorised. If malicious software attempts to run on a networked printer, it’s stopped at source, preventing the device from being used as a stepping stone into wider clinical systems.
5. Autonomous network threat detection (HP Connection Inspector): This means devices can keep an eye on their own network traffic and spot odd behaviour. If they see something suspicious, they automatically isolate and self-heal. If a consulting room printer starts reaching out to unfamiliar domains, it quarantines itself and reboots back to a safe state.
6. Centralised fleet protection (HP Security Manager): Primary care organisations should be able to set their security policy once and push it to every printer at the same time. Every GP practice can then become compliant with its ICB’s cybersecurity standards – and prove it with a simple, automatically generated report.
7. Future-proof firmware (HP FutureSmart): New security features and fixes should arrive over time automatically, without the need to swap hardware or manually install updates on individual printers’ room by room. When a software update is ready for release, IT can schedule a remote upgrade across the whole fleet in one go.

Stronger security for a safer NHS

At HP, end-to-end protection across firmware, network and software is built into the printers – rather than treated as add-ons. HP Wolf Security integrates all these benefits and runs across a fleet of devices, whether they’re managed by HP or the provider’s IT team.

Critically, these protections are simple to maintain. As guidance and threats change, policies and firmware can be updated once and pushed everywhere – maintaining long-term security and support for patient care without swapping hardware.

In short, stronger security is an enabler of better, safer care. Fewer risks to sensitive data, less disruption to healthcare services and more time spent with patients – all helping to build a more resilient NHS.