HP embeds new security features in its printers

Recent global malware attacks have alerted even companies making devices which are not normally subject to virus assaults to sit up and take notice.

HP announced on Monday embedded security features in its printers, including cloud printing solutions, to stay ahead of the malware attacks.

The announcement was made at the HP Reinvent world partner forum here which goes into its main session on Tuesday. 

"As the cyber landscape evolves and the path of work transforms, we will drive partner success with innovative new services and solutions for printing easily and securely, enabling increased services and revenue opportunities," says Enrique Lores, President, Imaging & Printing at HP.

He said the delivery from HP labs would help customers shut down malware attacks by raising the bar on embedded printer security to stay ahead of an increasingly challenging threat landscape. The solution would also have advanced self-healing capabilities.

Claiming to engineer the world's most secure printers, HP said in a release that it would deliver trusted, resilient security that starts with endpoint devices secured by design with powerful layers of protection for the device, data and documents.

The embedded security feature -- HP Connection Inspector – can inspect outbound network connections, typically abused by malware, determine what is normal and then stop suspicious activity, the company said. 

"If compromised, it will automatically trigger a reboot to initiate self-healing procedures, all without IT intervention," the release said. The portfolio also features enhanced run-time intrusion detection and whitelisting.

HP says it's also coming out with next generation smart devices services leveraging the power of IoT, big data, machine learning and predictive diagnostics to transform how devices are serviced.

In the spring of 2018, it will come up with HP Roam which allows printing "unbounded by time or geography".

It said that across businesses large and small, mobility was transforming the workplace but printing had not evolved to keep up with this new reality for work away from the desk. 

The new product enables mobile professionals to print any time from any location and any device, and retrieve their prints securely from a set of print locations at the office, at home or at public sites, says the company. 

HP Roam allows printing from any device (mobile or desktop) securely storing print jobs in the cloud, retrievable at any time. An auto-discovery feature allows printing anywhere when a user comes with 20 feet of any HP Roam-enabled printer (in the office, client's office or elsewhere).

An app will send notification to release prints in the cloud queue, on authentication. A map will also show nearby public print locations, including at hotels, libraries and airports.

HP also announced the launch of a "solutions hub" – to be available in spring of 2018 --which is aimed at optimisation of workflows for paper-intensive verticals, such as healthcare, legal and financial services. 

This cloud and mobile-centric architecture is designed to scale and customise workflows in vastly different business environments. The company is also delivering "smart devices services" – a set of cloud tools and device-based sensing capabilities to achieve highest uptime and lowest service costs including part failure prediction.

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