“The existing business transformation trends around cloud, as-a-service, and security have seen significant acceleration over the past year,” says George Brasher, general manager and global head, Print Services and Solutions, HP Inc. “In this hybrid world, where workers are distributed and the risk of cyberattacks has skyrocketed, we see businesses needing scalable and flexible printing solutions that are both secure and manageable.”
New Flexworker Offering; Part of HP Wolf Enterprise Security Services
HP’s new Flexworker offering, which is part of HP Wolf Enterprise Security Services, is a scalable cloud-based print service for hybrid workforces. This new extended Managed Print Service (MPS) allows IT departments to arm hybrid workers with secure, company-approved printers to enhance productivity at home. By leveraging the HP Instant Ink and MPS ecosystems, HP is delivering a fully automated enterprise managed print experience that includes financing, technical support, reporting, centralized billing and device security features and monitoring.
According to HP Wolf Security Blurred Lines & Blindspots report4, 45% of IT decision makers say they have seen evidence in their company of compromised printers being used as an attack point in the past year. The same report contains data from KuppingerCole, showing 86% of industry executives said their customers had concerns around the security of their home printers.
Flexworker gives enterprises visibility of up to 15 essential security settings5 on devices and leverages Security Manager to continuously monitor and automatically remediate if a device falls out of compliance with corporate policies.
As companies extend corporate offices into the home environment, HP is also expanding Flexworker to include select LaserJet Enterprise 400 series models — the HP LaserJet Managed MFP E42540f and HP LaserJet Managed E40040dn. The LaserJet Enterprise 400 is HP’s smallest enterprise-class printer series providing seamless remote management and the world’s most secure6 printing experience. The LaserJet Enterprise 400 series offers HP Wolf Security, which includes HP Trusted Platform module, HP Sure Start, Run-time intrusion detection7, HP Connection Inspector, and easy, policy-based fleet deployment with HP Security Manager.
Secure Printing at Home or In the Office
HP is introducing secure Internet Printing through HP Advance, an integrated platform for capture, print and output management. Internet Printing will enable organizations to offer employees the ability to seamlessly and securely print from either the office or at home. HP’s new Internet Printing offering features the latest encryption and authentication technologies, including OAuth 2.0 with OpenID connect for Azure AD. The solution also provides job accounting, ensuring companies can track activity both inside and outside the organization.
HP also announced HP Secure Print compatibility with Universal Print from Microsoft, which adds a layer of security by requiring authentication before the document is printed. It will also provide analytics about all print activity.
Availability
HP Advance Internet Printing is expected to be available in June 2021.
The HP LaserJet Managed MFP E42540f and HP LaserJet Managed E40040dn are expected to be available as part of Flexworker by July 2021.
HP Secure Print compatibility with Universal Print is expected to be available in July 2021.
The visibility into up to 15 security settings are expected to be available as part of Flexworker by August 2021.
1 HP Security is now HP Wolf Security. Security features vary by platform.
2 HP Advance works with most network-connected printers and MFPs. On-device authentication requires HP FutureSmart firmware 4.8 or newer. Supported card readers include X3D03A (HP USB Universal Card Reader) and Y7C05A (HP HIP2 Keystroke Reader). Internet connection required for some functionality. For more information, see hp.com/go/advance.
3 HP Secure Print works with most network-connected printers and MFPs. On-device authentication requires HP FutureSmart firmware 4.8 or newer. Supported card readers include X3D03A (HP USB Universal Card Reader) and Y7C05A (HP HIP2 Keystroke Reader). Internet connection required for some functionality. For more information, see hp.com/go/secureprint
4 HP Wolf Security Blurred Lines & Blindspots report, online survey of 8,443 adults in the US, the UK, Mexico, Germany, Australia, Canada and Japan, March 2021.
5 Dependent on device security settings/embedded security features. For visibility into all 15 essential security settings, automatic firmware update needs to be enabled and new releases of firmware uploaded when the firmware is release and the device is online.
6 HP’s most advanced embedded security features are available on HP Enterprise and HP Managed devices with HP FutureSmart firmware 4.5 or above. Claim based on HP review of 2021 published features of competitive in-class printers. Only HP offers a combination of security features to automatically detect, stop, and recover from attacks with a self-healing reboot, in alignment with NIST SP 800-193 guidelines for device cyber resiliency. For a list of compatible products, visit: hp.com/go/PrintersThatProtect. For more information, visit: hp.com/go/PrinterSecurityClaims.
7 Third-party certification based on Common Criteria Information Technology Security Evaluation ISO/IEC 15408 Standard requirements as of May 2019-2024. Certification applicable to HP Enterprise and Managed devices running HP FutureSmart Firmware version 4.5.1 and later. For more information: https://www.commoncriteriaportal.org/files/epfiles/Certification%20Report%20-%20HP%20Intrusion%20Detection.pdf.
8 Based on HP’s unique and comprehensive security capabilities at no additional cost among vendors on HP Elite PCs with Windows and 8th Gen and higher Intel® processors or AMD Ryzen™ 4000 processors and higher; HP ProDesk 600 G6 with Intel® 10th Gen and higher processors; and HP ProBook 600 with AMD Ryzen™ 4000 or Intel® 11th Gen processors and higher.