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| Source: HP |
HP has launched HP Wolf Security, a newly integrated portfolio of hardware, software, and services that put endpoint security front and center. The name leverages HP’s recognizable 2017 marketing campaign that aimed to elevate awareness of the security risks of vulnerable printers and PCs. That campaign featured Christian Slater as a hacker who systematically hacks a company from mailroom to boardroom in a series of web videos (which, sadly, HP has since taken down, although episodes re-posted by third parties can still be found on YouTube).
The thinking behind HP Wolf Security is to integrate an array of HP’s class-leading security technologies and offerings to relieve some of the burden currently falling on customers’ IT personnel. Granted, much of the technology stack is not new—business-class HP MFPs and printers have featured self-healing firmware and in-memory breach detection for years, for example—but subsuming them under one umbrella should make it easier for customers to understand how the various parts sum up to a whole.
One impetus for HP Wolf Security is the “new normal” of the hybrid workforce split between home and office—locations that tend to have vastly different security profiles. HP is looking to eliminate this security-technology gap with its PCs, printers, and services. The offerings are rooted in Zero Trust principles, which dictate that every endpoint and user communication be treated as untrustworthy (hence the name) until proven otherwise. The HP Wolf Security stack delivers comprehensive protection by shrinking the addressable attack surface of an organization, enabling remote recovery from firmware attacks, enhancing threat-data collection, and delivering detailed alerts about security events involving HP infrastructure.
The HP Wolf Security portfolio is broken down into several categories:
- HP Wolf Security for Home includes a set of built-in security features for consumer devices, as well as HP Wolf Essential Security software and services (sold separately)
- HP Wolf Security for Business includes a portfolio of hardware-enforced security features, included with every business PC purchase, and designed for businesses of all sizes
- HP Wolf Pro Security comprises software and services for small to mid-sized businesses
- HP Wolf Enterprise Security comprises software and services for enterprises and government
Several of the technologies in the portfolio have proven themselves in our lab tests, which focus on three areas to check for security vulnerabilities in MFPs: Device Penetration, Firmware Resilience, and Policy Compliance (check out our recent MFP security primer blog for more details). Notably, HP is the only OEM to have hardware and software pass all three tracks of our MFP Security Validation test program.
Integrated programs such as HP’s can help customers get a handle on at least some aspects of IT security. As cybersecurity issues continue to surface (anyone on the East Coast hunting for gasoline this week?), we hope other office equipment providers follow suit.
Subscribers to our Office CompleteView Advisory Service can log in to the InfoCenter to view our full MFP Security Overview and “Cheat Sheet” presentation. Not a subscriber? No problem. Just send us an email at sales@keypointintelligence.com for more info.
