Firmware

In the past the printer has tended to be a pretty dumb device, but as they’ve gained more features and extra connectivity printers have become a target for attacks and potentially a way of gaining access to networks.

A new report from HP Wolf Security, based on global study of 800+ IT and security decision-makers (ITSDMs), highlighs the challenges of securing printer hardware and firmware.

The enterprise device landscape is becoming much more complex and more dangerous, with the average device risk per industry increasing by 15 percent year-on-year.

A new report from Forescout highlights that network-connected devices, from traditional IT operating systems to specialized healthcare systems and OT machinery, are exposing organizations to damaging threats such as ransomware attacks and data exfiltration.

New research from HP Wolf Security finds that 80 percent of IT leaders are concerned about their capacity to respond to firmware attacks.

The study shows that 67 percent of IT leaders say protecting against, detecting, and recovering from firmware attacks has become more difficult and time-consuming due to the increase in home working, with 64 percent saying the same of analyzing the security of firmware configuration.

Microsoft is partnering with PC manufacturers and chip-makers on a new initiative designed to make systems with firmware that cannot be hacked.

Called Secured-core PCs, the systems apply the security best practices of isolation and minimal trust to the firmware layer. This helps to protect systems from low-level interference by malicious code.