Key Takeaways:
- Print-and-mail outsourcing partners should deliver the highest levels of 24/7 physical, cyber, and compliance safeguards for transactional communications.
- Many in-house operations can’t cost-effectively sustain comparable security and privacy protections.
- Importantly, most security failures in transactional communications arise inhouse, upstream of outsourced production, so leveraging communications technology to protect internal data flows and approvals also is critical.
For companies that issue invoices, regulatory communications, medical bills or other essential documents, the move to print and mail outsourcing is no longer driven only by cost and speed. Boardrooms and regulators alike are zeroing in on security.
Transactional communications often contain personally identifiable information (PII), payment details and, in many cases, protected health information (PHI). Any breach or mishandling can trigger stiff fines, customer churn and lasting reputational damage. The question is no longer whether to outsource, but how to outsource securely.
The expanding threat landscape
Cyber threats keep climbing: IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2024 pegs the average global breach at $4.9 million, the sharpest year-over-year jump since the pandemic.
Physical risks are rising, too. Serious crimes against U.S. postal workers and property doubled between 2019 and 2023, with carrier robberies up nearly sevenfold. Meanwhile, the Postal Service logged over52,000 high-volume mail-receptacle thefts in FY 2024.
In short, both digital and physical attack surfaces are expanding, just as customer tolerance for delays and errors is shrinking.
In-house vs. outsourced: Where are the bigger gaps?
Many organizations still run legacy print rooms, often in basement facilities with aging equipment and limited security budgets. But most have shifted to brochures and other lower-risk work, with only 34% of in-plant operations handling transactional print today given the need for specific expertise, equipment and security.
In particular, keeping pace with 24/7 surveillance, compliance audits, badge-controlled floor access and business continuity infrastructure essential for bills and other regulated communications is capital-intensive. Outsourcing printing and mailing allows companies to choose a provider that specializes in transactional communications with these exact controls in place.
What best-in-class print and mail outsourcing partners do differently
A security-first transactional print partner will demonstrate:
- Data safeguards – SFTP transfer, encryption at rest, role-based user access, multi-factor authentication, continuous Security Information and Event Monitoring (SIEM), and strict protocols for discarded PHI/PII communications disposal, such as secure in-house shredding or onsite destruction by a HIPAA-compliant vendor.
- Certifications – Independent audits against Service Organization Controls, including SSAE-18 and SOC 2 Type II, as well as HIPAA/HITECH.
- Facility controls – Dual-factor secure entry, segmented production zones and chain-of-custody barcoding that tracks every tray, roll and envelope.
- Redundancy – Geographically dispersed print and mail production sites with uninterrupted workflows and disaster-recovery capability at scale.
- Continuous testing – Annual penetration tests, quarterly vulnerability scans and documented incident-response drills.
Choosing a provider that can check these boxes mitigates both compliance exposure and risk.
Security due diligence checklist
Before outsourcing print and mail, request and review:
- Current SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS reports (plus HIPAA Business Associate Agreement if health data is involved).
- Written incident-response plan with breach-notification SLAs.
- Document archiving and certified destruction policies.
- Evidence of employee background checks and annual/new employee security training.
- Results of the latest penetration test or vulnerability assessment.
- Virtual or onsite tour of production floors, QC stations and secure storage areas.
CCM: An added security layer
You may fortify your presses and inserters, but most breaches happen before files reach the production floor. A cloud-based customer communications management (CCM) platform closes that gap by:
- Centralizing templates and data feeds—eliminating random spreadsheets and unsecured email proofs.
- Locking access behind role-based rights, with every template change captured in a complete audit trail.
- Automating compliance checkpoints, privacy masking and state-specific disclosures, so rules are enforced by workflow, not memory.
- Integrating print and mail and digital delivery within a single platform minimizes data handoffs and lowers security risk.
- Offering secure APIs that enable core systems to transfer data without manual file drops.
Without CCM, even the tightest pressroom sometimes relies on ad-hoc, manual processes that attackers exploit and auditors flag.
Security concerns no longer justify keeping an aging print room alive. The best strategy is to partner with a transactional print and mail provider that prioritizes compliance and security. By following a rigorous due-diligence process, organizations can protect customer data, satisfy regulators and gain the agility and cost advantages of outsourcing print and mail.
Please contact us to schedule a production facility tour with Nordis today.
