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Subject matter experts from every corner of HP Inc. addressed a core group of industry analysts at the HP Security Summit 2023, held in New York City on December 12. The small-group and one-on-one sessions covered nearly every facet of HP’s security strategy from OS and firmware platform security for the company’s PC and print products to security assessment services and current threat trends.
Emerging technologies are propagating emerging threats, HP noted. The “Internet of Things” (IoT) and edge architecture mean there are more potentially vulnerable devices than ever before, while AI-powered tools are accelerating the velocity at which threats can be developed and distributed. Another issue: the eventual mainstream availability of quantum computing hardware and software. While that will be a boon to any industry, it also threatens the encryption protocols in place to protect data and communications. With quantum tools, hackers will be able to crack current encryption methods, rendering them obsolete possibly within a decade.
With these developments in mind, HP detailed its core principles to protect endpoints today and for its expected 3-7 years of in-field service:
- Robust, certifiable roots of trust (RoTs). HP devices deliver hardware, firmware, and software components that perform specific, critical security functions to ensure a secure foundation. Features include industry-leading firmware integrity protection (we know; we tested it in our lab) along with breach detection and recovery (we’ve seen that in action, too). HP is also a leader in meeting third-party certifications such as FIPS 140-3 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that governs security requirements for cryptographic modules.
- Self-healing and resilience at scale. HP noted its business-class endpoints are designed for a “not if, but when” cybersecurity scenario. Engineers and developers are tasked with ensuring that device firmware and operating systems can eliminate a threat should a breach occur, then self-heal autonomously. HP follows the guidelines detailed in the NIST SP 800-193 standard for IoT platform resiliency, which company representatives helped write.
- Threat containment. HP is also on the cutting edge when it comes to “zero day” attack prevention. Developers are reinventing the software architecture of PC and print devices by enabling the containment of suspicious activities and potential threats in disposable virtual machines (VMs) running on the device. This can help mitigate the impact of “bad clicks” by end users, since threats would be running in an isolated “sandbox” without access beyond the VM. Shut down the VM, and the threat is neutralized.
- Zero trust security. Zero trust network architectures are gaining popularity inside enterprises and large companies, and HP is ensuring that its endpoint devices adhere to these tenets, as well. The company is moving beyond passwords in favor of digital signatures and multifactor authentication down to the firmware level.
- Security across the device lifecycle. HP is also focused on ensuring supply-chain security for its devices, from the factory floor to when the device is finally decommissioned. It does this by offering solutions that manage and monitor hardware and firmware integrity, as well as remediate at scale across the entire fleet when necessary (oh, we’ve proven this in the lab, too.)
Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
For years, HP has been touting its Wolf Security comprehensive endpoint security ecosystem that aims to protect devices from cyberattacks, starting at the hardware level and extending to software and services. And while its marketing is indeed slick, Wolf Security’s underpinnings are even slicker. And HP is not afraid to put its solutions to the test. In fact, the company is the only OEM to have submitted products for—and passed—all three of our Security Validation Testing tracks for device penetration, firmware resilience, and policy compliance.
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