HP Innovation Journal Issue 14: Spring 2020 | Page 28

even the most sophisticated document-borne or web-based
malware, straight out of the box.
REGAINING CONTROL
As the potential attack surface expands, the hard edges of
the systems controlled by a single business are dissolving
into distant memory. Today, the IT systems of a modern
business are completely enmeshed with those of partners
and suppliers. As such, the risks business leaders are held
accountable for often far exceed what they can practically
manage. With so much of the attack surface outside of their
grasp, businesses must double down on securing the systems
within their control. Endpoint devices, for instance, are
often overlooked. Up to 68% of IT security professionals
said their company was hit by one or more endpoint attacks
over the past 12 months that successfully compromised
data or IT infrastructure, an increase of 54% from 2017. 4
Every laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, application, IoT
device, smart meter, and remote connection attached to a
company’s network represents a potential weak link—and an
opportunity for bad actors to wreak havoc on a company’s
systems. Despite that danger, fewer than one in five
enterprise IT decision-makers consider printers a high-risk
target for a security breach. 5 At the same time, attacks on
firmware and embedded devices have moved from theory to
reality. 6 We can only address the rise in attacks if vendors put
security first, making it a critical part of how they design and
build devices, beginning with the hardware. These are some
of the reasons why HP has developed hardware-enforced,
layered security, built into the architecture of business PCs
and enterprise printers alike. This approach provides robust
security foundations anchored in hardware, which will help
strengthen the rest of an organization’s defenses.
“For small- and medium-sized
businesses this problem becomes
even more acute. …Attacks
have now become cheap enough
to execute that criminals are
moving down-market.”
they’re innovating with the same sense of urgency as
any legitimate company. The emergence of “hivenets”—
intelligent, adaptive autonomous malware networks—is
one example of this new stage of escalation. Cybercriminals
have been able to use self-learning strategies to create
intelligent botnets that need minimal human supervision to
target an ever wider range of vulnerable systems.
But black-hats aren’t just seeking a competitive edge
through machine augmentation, they’re also hunting for
the weak points that new technologies create. As a result,
helping businesses future-proof against the unknown has
become table stakes. This is why HP has been a leader in
using deep learning and advanced analytics technologies
across PCs and printers, to help detect malicious software
based on the malware’s behavioral traits, rather than
scanning for a previously identified digital signature.
This approach helps identify and stop never-before-seen
strains of malware before they cause trouble. Delivering
such capability “out of the box” is key to helping our
customers, of any size, simplify and automate the process
of hardening and managing their IT estate.
STAYING AHEAD THE REWARDS OF RESILIENCE
Over the past few years criminal networks have poured
resources into developing ever more sophisticated, novel,
and innovative attacks. Whether it’s using AI to mutate
known malware into new forms, or automating attacks, Like any business, criminal gangs are concerned with
profit. With a cybercrime economy worth over $1.5 trillion, 7
they’ve had more than a little success. Their adoption and
deployment of new technology is designed to decrease
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HP Innovation Journal Issue 14