Only the HP LaserJet Enterprise printers series will receive these new and enhanced security features

Sep 24, 2015 02:35 GMT  ·  By

HP will be launching three new models of its LaserJet enterprise printers line, which, unlike previous products, will be featuring three novel technologies aimed at protecting the printer's firmware code from being tampered with by attackers.

These new technologies are aimed at mitigating attacks during their three main stages. HP's new tech will be able to detect, protect, and recover from attacks, all automatically, without the constant presence of a human supervisor that's needed to start security measures or patch vulnerable firmware.

The three new security features are Runtime Intrusion Detection, HP Sure Start, and Whitelisting.

The first, Runtime Intrusion Detection, acts as a firewall embedded in the printer's firmware, monitoring internal memory and automatically rebooting the device in case of an attack. This effectively wipes the attacker's malicious code from the printer's memory, cleaning out the infection.

HP's new printers can self-diagnose and shut down attacks

The second announced feature is called HP Sure Start and is a simple checker that scans the BIOS source code, and in case of any unauthorized changes, it restores a "golden copy" of the BIOS.

After the device exits the boot phase, the Whitelisting feature comes into effect, confirming the authenticity of the firmware code before loading it into the device's memory. This feature basically checks if the firmware code has been digitally signed by HP.

If it's not, there's a high chance that it was tampered with by attackers, who hid malware in its code. By not granting it access to the memory, the malicious code is stopped from ever being executed.

If by any chance an attack slips through, the HP JetAdvantage Security Manager will then fix any affected security settings on the device.

Some of these new features will also be added to older LaserJet models through firmware updates. For now, only HP's enterprise printer line will benefit from the upcoming enhanced security features.

The new HP models being launched with these enhanced security features are the M506, M527, and M577 series, set to be debut by the end of November.

HP's new printer security settings
HP's new printer security settings

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