Background & Key Enhancements

Windows Protected Print (WPP) is a modern print security framework developed by Microsoft to address the long-standing vulnerabilities associated with traditional print architectures. Legacy printing methods often rely on print spoolers, third-party drivers, and high-privilege execution, all of which present potential attack vectors for cyber threats. In recent years, security flaws such as the PrintNightmare vulnerability exposed the risks posed by elevated permissions in print services, leading to unauthorised access, privilege escalation, and even system-wide exploits.

To mitigate these risks, Microsoft introduced Windows Protected Print (WPP) as a secure, driverless printing solution that leverages Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), removing the dependency on vendor-specific print drivers and significantly reducing attack surfaces. This approach not only enhances security but also simplifies print deployment and management.

Cirros has fully integrated WPP into its  Cloud solution, ensuring seamless, secure, and scalable printing services for enterprise and government customers. The adoption of WPP within Cirros’ cloud-based print architecture brings several key benefits, including:

  1. Elimination of Print Drivers – Traditional print environments require vendor-specific drivers, which often introduce incompatibilities, security vulnerabilities, and administrative overhead. By using WPP, Cirros ensures driverless printing, reducing IT workload and security risks.
  2. Lower Privilege Execution – Historically, print spoolers required high-privilege execution, making them an attractive target for attackers. With WPP, print operations now execute with minimal privileges, mitigating the risk of privilege escalation attacks.
  3. End-to-End Encryption of Print Jobs – Print jobs are now secured with TLS 1.2/1.3 encryption during transmission, ensuring data confidentiality and protection against interception.
  4. Seamless Integration with Identity & Access Management (IAM) – WPP works natively with Azure Active Directory (AAD), Okta, and other authentication platforms, enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for print job security.
  5. Zero Trust Printing – By default, WPP follows a Zero Trust model, requiring users to authenticate before releasing print jobs. This prevents unauthorised access to sensitive documents.

The adoption of Windows Protected Print marks a significant evolution in enterprise and government print security, reducing vulnerabilities and providing a future-proof, cloud-native printing solution. Cirros' implementation of WPP ensures that organisations can enjoy secure, efficient, and compliant printing while minimising IT complexity.

How Cirros Implements WPP for Secure Printing

Cirros has integrated Windows Protected Print into its Cloud architecture, ensuring that all print jobs follow a highly secure and streamlined process. The integration of WPP into Cirros’ solution allows organisations to remove legacy print spoolers, eliminate third-party drivers, and enforce Zero Trust security policies.

End-to-End Secure Print Workflow

The process begins when a user submits a print job from their workstation, virtual desktop, or mobile device. Unlike traditional methods where the print job is stored in a local print spooler, Cirros' WPP-enabled architecture ensures that the job is encrypted and transmitted securely over the network.

Once submitted, the print job is held in an encrypted print queue, accessible only to the authenticated user. At this stage, identity verification is required before the print job can be released. Users must authenticate using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), a smart card, or a PIN code, ensuring that only authorised personnel can retrieve sensitive documents.

Print jobs are then released directly to the printer using Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), which ensures secure, encrypted communication between the client device and the printer. Since IPP is natively supported in modern operating systems, it eliminates the need for third-party print drivers and reduces attack surfaces associated with legacy print architectures.

By implementing attribute-based access control (ABAC) policies, Cirros ensures that print jobs are only accessible to designated users, departments, or devices. This granular level of access control enhances security, prevents unauthorised document retrieval, and enforces data protection policies in compliance with GDPR, ISO 27001, and other regulatory standards.

Cloud-Based Print Job Encryption & Storage

A major security enhancement introduced with Cirros’ implementation of WPP is the end-to-end encryption of print jobs, ensuring that documents remain secure from submission to release.

  1. TLS 1.2/1.3 Encryption in Transit – All print jobs are securely transmitted using TLS 1.2/1.3 encryption, preventing eavesdropping and unauthorised interception.
  2. AES-256 Encryption at Rest – Print jobs stored in Cirros' are encrypted with AES-256, ensuring that even if a data breach occurs, print job contents remain protected.
  3. Zero Knowledge Storage Model – Cirros employs a zero-knowledge architecture, meaning that print job contents are never visible to the cloud storage system. Only the authorised user with the correct decryption key can release and access the document.

This multi-layered security approach ensures that sensitive government, financial, and enterprise documents remain protected from unauthorised access throughout the printing lifecycle.

Role-Based & Policy-Driven Print Access

To further strengthen security, Cirros enforces role-based and policy-driven access controls, allowing organisations to define who can print, where, and under what conditions.

  1. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) – Admins can assign print permissions based on job function, department, or security clearance level.
  2. Time-Limited & Location-Based Printing – Organisations can implement geofencing policies, restricting print job release to approved network locations.
  3. Audit Logging & SIEM Integration – Every print job action is logged in a tamper-proof audit trail, providing real-time visibility and forensic investigation capabilities.

These measures ensure that unauthorised printing is prevented, document confidentiality is maintained, and organisations comply with strict security mandates.

Driverless Printing & Security Hardening

Eliminating Legacy Print Drivers

One of the most significant benefits of Windows Protected Print is its ability to eliminate third-party print drivers, which have traditionally been a major source of security vulnerabilities and IT headaches. Legacy print drivers often:

  • Introduce incompatibility issues between different printer models.
  • Require frequent updates and patches, leading to administrative overhead.
  • Pose security risks, as outdated drivers can be exploited for remote code execution attacks.

By transitioning to driverless printing via IPP, Cirros eliminates these risks, allowing organisations to:

  • Deploy printers without requiring vendor-specific drivers.
  • Reduce the attack surface by removing privileged print spooler processes.
  • Ensure consistent printing experiences across different OS environments.

Security Hardening & Continuous Threat Mitigation

Cirros has hardened the print environment by implementing Zero Trust policies and continuous security monitoring.

  1. Print Spooler Isolation – Unlike traditional print services that run with high privileges, WPP ensures that print processes run with minimal system privileges, preventing exploitation.
  2. Regular Security Updates & Patching – Cirros' patch management framework ensures that security updates for print services are automatically deployed without administrative intervention.
  3. Advanced Threat Detection – Security logs are continuously monitored using SIEM tools like Splunk (optional) and Azure Sentinel, detecting unauthorised print attempts or anomalies in print job behaviour.

With these enhancements, Cirros' WPP-based architecture significantly improves security while simplifying IT management, making it an ideal solution for government agencies, enterprises, and regulated industries.

Cirros' implementation of Windows Protected Print (WPP) revolutionizes print security by eliminating legacy vulnerabilities, enforcing Zero Trust security principles, and removing the need for print drivers. By integrating secure authentication, role-based access control, encryption, and audit logging, Cirros ensures that enterprise and government organisations can securely print without compromising security.

Through driverless IPP printing, cloud-based encryption, and advanced security hardening, Cirros provides a future-proof, highly secure printing solution that meets the most demanding compliance and regulatory requirements.

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