HP unveils advanced security for remote workers — and shows how to disinfect your laptop

HP has unveiled advanced security for businesses and their remote workforces and disclosed an extensive guide to disinfecting your laptop and other computer equipment.

The new offerings include HP Pro Security Edition, HP Proactive Security, and HP Sure Click Enterprise. These are aimed at the security threats that evolve and disrupt business every day.

With the recent surge of remote workers — due to work-from-home rules forced upon us by COVID-19 — HP said we must all be aware of the increased risks of working from home. Over 80% of home office routers have been found to be vulnerable to potential cyberattacks.

Emails also pose a significant risk to organizations, with over 90% of PC infections originating from attachments and 96% of security  breaches not discovered until months later. There are 5 billion new threats per month, based on HP’s estimates.

“Our HP Pro Security Edition takes Sure Sense and Sure Click and bundles [them] with our system” said Andy Rhodes, global head of commercial PCs, in a press briefing. “Endpoints are still an enormous risk — 90% of infections originate with emails. Every user is at risk here.”

HP Pro Security for small businesses

Above: HP’s latest security offerings. | Image Credit: HP

HP is expanding its built-in hardware-enforced PC security suite to focus on low-touch, simple, and robust enterprise-level security for SMBs. HP Pro Security Edition is the world’s most advanced application isolation and deep learning endpoint protection on Windows 10 PCs, delivering enterprise-level security designed for SMB customers.

The security suite includes HP Sure Sense Pro, a deep learning AI-based protection solution, and HP Sure Click Pro, which offers isolation protection for browser, files, and applications.

The advanced versions of HP Sure Click and HP Sure Sense are designed to complement each other, powered by a deep-learning cloud that is constantly connected and updating the software, isolating threats and monitoring application health. This provides closed-loop protection for multiple threats coming from different vectors, applied through various kinds of malware.

Managed security service for medium-sized businesses

HP Proactive Security is an endpoint security service that takes a protection-first approach. The managed service helps small- and medium-sized businesses defend against cyberattacks without changing user behavior or increasing IT workload. The service provides advanced protection that is monitored and managed by experienced HP cybersecurity experts. Company data and devices are secured with multiple layers of proactive protection, applying advanced deep learning and isolation technologies to protect endpoints and reduce risk.

This managed service solution provides a holistic view of device protection status and detailed findings on attempted and blocked attacks from HP TechPulse accessible from a simple dashboard, giving companies peace of mind and remote employees the freedom to work securely from anywhere.

Security for enterprises

Designed for enterprise and government entities, HP Sure Click Enterprise is the world’s most secure endpoint application isolation and containment solution, 12 protecting enterprise endpoints from even the most sophisticated of attackers while providing detailed, real-time threat intelligence to security teams.

The solution allows customers to deliver run-time protection with task-level isolation and non-persistent virtual machines, protecting all on- and off-network users without breach, persistence, lateral movement, or data exfiltration.

HP Sure Click Enterprise supports all Windows 8 and 10 devices, reducing complexity while hardening overall cyber postures in the face of increased targeted and destructive attacks. It also provides additional capabilities, including protecting user’s credentials from phishing attacks, and cloud-powered automated threat analytics. The solution supports large-scale deployments with sophisticated policy and threat management, delivered either through an on-premise server or through an HP cloud-hosted service with ISO 27001/ SOC2 type II accreditation.

HP will offer HP Sure Click Pro free of charge through September 30, 2020, to help protect users from web, email, and document-based security threats. HP Sure Click Pro will enhance the already existing HP Sure Click with additional features such as editing Word and Excel documents within an isolated container. This offer will be available for use on all HP and non-HP Windows 10 PCs.

Availability

HP Pro Security Edition is expected to be available on select HP Elite PCs purchased in the summer. HP Proactive Security is available to select customers in pilots now and is expected to be available to customers and partners worldwide in April 2020. HP Sure Click Enterprise is expected to be available in May 2020. HP Sure Click Pro will be offered free of charge for download on HP and non-HP devices through September 30.

How to clean your laptop and other devices

Above: HP is protecting its own employees and talking about how others can protect themselves. | Image Credit: HP

With public health concerns over the COVID-19 disease spreading worldwide, HP wants customers to have the information they need to effectively clean HP devices and to assist customers in maintaining a healthy work environment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cleaning surfaces, followed by disinfection, as a best practice for the prevention of Coronavirus and other viral respiratory illnesses in households and community settings.

As for cleaning up devices, HP has issued its own white paper for cleaning your devices.

“We get asked this every day,” said Rhodes. “If you use the wrong disinfectant, you can actually damage the product.”

A CDC-recommended disinfectant that is also within HP’s cleaning guidelines is an alcohol solution consisting of 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water. Please follow the steps below to use the CDC-recommended alcohol solution to clean high-touch, external surfaces on HP products:

1. Wear disposable gloves made of latex (or nitrile gloves if you are latex-sensitive) when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

2. Turn off the device and disconnect AC power (for printers, devices should be unplugged from the outlet). Remove batteries from items like wireless keyboards. Never clean a product while it is powered on or plugged in.

3. Disconnect any external devices.

4. Moisten a microfiber cloth with a mixture of 70% isopropyl alcohol / 30% water. Do not use fibrous materials, such as paper towels or toilet paper. The cloth should be moist, but not dripping wet.

a. Isopropyl Alcohol is sold in most stores, usually in a 70% Isopropyl Alcohol / 30% Water solution. It may also be marketed as rubbing alcohol.

5. Do not spray any liquids directly onto the product.

6. Gently wipe the moistened cloth on the surfaces to be cleaned. Do not allow any moisture to drip into areas like keyboards, display panels or USB ports located on the printer control panels, as moisture entering the inside of an electronic product can cause extensive damage to the product.

7. Start with the display or printer control panel (if applicable) and end with any flexible cables, like power, keyboard, and USB cables.

8. When cleaning a display screen or printer control panel, carefully wipe in one direction, moving from the top of the display to the bottom.

9. Ensure surfaces have completely air-dried before turning the device on after cleaning. No moisture should be visible on the surfaces of the product before it is powered on.

10. After disinfecting, copier/scanner glass should be cleaned again using an office glass cleaner sprayed onto a clean rag to remove streaking. Streaking on the copier/scanner glass from the CDC-recommended cleaning solution could cause copy quality defects.

11. Gloves should be discarded after each cleaning. Clean hands immediately after gloves are removed.