It's no secret that the frequency – and fallout – of cyberattacks has been on the rise in recent years. A growing number of those attacks are targeting endpoint devices, such as network-connected printers and PCs, with the percentage of breached notebooks and desktops doubling in the last six years. And in our conversations with customers, security is a growing concern among executives that cannot be ignored.
Within this context, HP has broadened its offerings around security in areas where vulnerabilities can often be overlooked. Earlier this month, for example, the company announced new security offerings to protect enterprise networks from infiltration, via printer ports.
On the commercial PC side, HP is unveiling a comprehensive set of security solutions in its lineup of Elite PCs, focused on protecting not only the device, but also the user's identity and data – making them the world's most secure and manageable PCs.
HP Sure Start security innovation to date protects the PC at its deepest level – the BIOS, or Basic Input/Output System. As the computer firmware that runs the initial startup code before the operating system software boots up and resides below the OS, the BIOS code is an attractive target for malware especially in advanced persistent attacks. In fact, the BIOS has been used in the past to penetrate networks or seize sensitive files.
HP Sure Start Gen3 now expands its coverage into the System Management Mode (SMM) layer – the highest privilege at runtime. Available on the upcoming HP EliteBook 800 G4 series, HP Sure Start Gen3 will help prevent such attacks by automatically detecting tampering attempts with the BIOS (both in pre-boot and run-time), notifying the user of a problem and restoring the BIOS to its original pristine condition from a copy stored on a dedicated computer chip. In that sense, it's self-healing.
In addition, Sure Start Gen3 also protects the data governing BIOS configuration and policy. If the BIOS is tampered with, Sure Start Gen3 will not only restore it, but also recover any custom setting and policies handed down by IT. In this way, Sure Start Gen3 makes Windows 10 even more secure for the enterprise.