HP bets on innovation, security mechanisms to ward off cyber attacks
As part of “HP Experience Day” held in San Juan Tuesday, the technology company introduced its most recent security, computer, and printing innovations featuring solutions focused on keeping cyber attacks at a minimum.
As reported, a cyber attack is registered every 39 seconds and the damage resulting from cyber crimes will cost $6 billion worldwide in 2021. Furthermore, 65 percent of all data breaches involve employee errors and that 65 percent of cyber attacks target small and mid-sized companies.
The risk of security violations of computer systems is increasing worldwide in both workplace networks and home settings, so it is important to use equipment that is protected from malicious attacks, said Ronnie Avendaño, HP territory manager for Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
“Our technology provides a shield against the multiple risks involved in being interconnected. If we add these tools to solid security policies, we can successfully lower the risk of cyber attacks,” he said.
HP executive cited recent research that has shown that printers are the source of an increasing number of security threats.
Currently, a printer is 68 percent more likely to be the source of an external threat in comparison to 2016, and 118 percent more likely to be the source of an internal data breach. Only 30 percent of IT professionals, however, recognize that printers present a security risk, said Carlos Bermúdez, HP’s solutions business developer for Latin America.
“This is why, to protect devices, HP has introduced tools such as HP Sure Start Gen4, which detects threats to the system memory BIOS and restores it automatically after an attack,” he said, referring to the firmware used to initialize computers upon start-up.
During the event, HP also unveiled other tools to shield both the home and business user from attacks, including programs to protect printers, which Bermúdez said have been the target of widespread hacker attacks recently.
“Hacking has become a thriving business, generating billions,” Bermúdez said. “It’s not just about kids doing it for kicks anymore. It’s about professionals breaking into systems, often for ransom.”
Malicious attacks can also be warded off via multiple security layers, including authentication by biometric identifiers or pattern recognition. There is also software to prevent visual hacking — HP Sure Click — which obstructs the view of curious eyes on computer screens, and HP Secure Erase, which prevents data theft from recycling bins after they have been emptied.
