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Crash course: Serious data protection

Crash Course: Serious Data Protection

Reading time: 4 minutes
The risk is real: 92% of Fortune 2000 companies have reported experiencing data breaches in the past year. [1] The average cost incurred to resolve a single attack can total $9.5 million. [2] And the percentage of breaches involving a compromised user's device has more than doubled in the last six years. [3]
Fortunately, businesses have a new defense: HP Elite PCs with 7th generation Intel® Core™ Processors are designed to safeguard device, identity, and data from the inside out. With HP Sure Start Gen3 technology built-in,[4] HP Elite PCs can help businesses overcome security threats and prevent hackers from accessing sensitive data.

You are the end point

The act of hacking data has become more sophisticated over the years—but the most hard-hitting breaches can easily begin with phishing emails. Phishing is the act of posing as a familiar, trustworthy entity in email, and using that familiarity and trust to get recipients to release confidential information, such as passwords and bank account numbers. All it takes is one employee clicking on a nefarious email link, and your business is at risk. Hackers have used this technique to penetrate computer networks, prevent PCs from booting up, wipe out servers, and steal data.
HP Elite PCs with HP Sure Start Gen3 offer protection from hackers aiming to disrupt PCs and access sensitive data. The technology detects advanced attacks at the BIOS level and recovers the BIOS in less than a minute. The self-healing BIOS permits users to boot up their PCs safely, resulting in no disruption to business, no loss of productivity, and no bottom-line draining IT repair costs.

How HP Sure Start Gen3 works

HP Elite PCs with 7th generation Intel® Core™ Processors arrive with HP Sure Start Gen3 built in, protecting PC hardware. HP Sure Start Gen3 guards your device at its deepest level—the BIOS, which miscreant hackers have used to infiltrate networks and steal data.
When you boot your PC, the very first program that runs is the BIOS—before your operating system, before your firewall, or your anti-malware. If HP Sure Start Gen3 suspects something malicious, it restores the BIOS to its original state so the operating system and the business's IT-approved software run without a hitch. There is no opportunity for anti-malware to scan the BIOS prior to or during the operating system's loading. HP Sure Start Gen3 also expands its coverage into the System Management Mode to lend added protection at runtime.
Hackers also try to target the master boot record (MBR) which resides on the hard disk. Malware and ransomware can infect or replace the MBR to hide from your standard antivirus programs and lock down your device. If the MBR is altered or erased, HP Sure Start Gen3 restores the MBR and allows the PC to boot safely.
Without HP Sure Start Gen3, a malicious attack on your device can remain completely hidden from antivirus software, corrupt your computer's motherboard, and therefore withstand wiping the hard disk and reinstalling Windows.

Security that's built in, not bolted on

Given the escalating number of cyber attacks, as well as network-connected PCs serving as an ever-growing target, security is a real concern for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

With the latest generation of Elite devices armed with HP Sure Start Gen3, businesses now have access to built-in tools to thwart hackers, and the confidence of knowing they're using the world's most secure and manageable PCs.[5] Alongside Windows 10's robust security features, HP Elite PCs provide additional protection, including:

  • Multi-factor authentication that combines passwords with hardened biometrics for more secure authentication
  • The HP WorkWise smartphone app that automatically locks or unlocks a PC whenever you move in or out of range—and alerts you if your device is being tampered with
  • HP Secure Erase to obliterate data on your storage drive when your PC has reached its end of life
These layers of protection all add up to a more secure PC fleet and, ultimately, a more secure business.
[1] Ponemon Institute, Mega Trends in Cyber Security Expert Opinion Study Source: 2016 Cyberthreat Defense Report, CyberEdge Group, LLC
[2] Ponemon Study sponsored by HPE “2016 Cost of Cyber Crime Study & the Risk of Business Innovation”, 2016
[4] HP Sure Start Gen3 is available on HP Elite products equipped with 7th generation Intel Core processors.
[5] Based on HP's unique and comprehensive security capabilities at no additional cost and HP Manageability Integration Kit's management of every aspect of a PC including hardware, BIOS and software management using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager among vendors with >1M unit annual sales as of November 2016 on HP Elite PCs with 7th Gen Intel® Core® Processors, Intel® integrated graphics, and Intel® WLAN.
Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Windows is either a registered trademark or a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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