Analysis

The human factor of endpoint security

Security systems are only effective if your workforce choose to use them.

30 Jun 2017

In this video, the Head of HP's Security Lab Simon Shiu and HP Technical Sales Manager Neil Anderson explain how human beings are often the weakest link in system security, and what can be done to guard against this. Whilst some of this is about how systems are designed, education is also fundamentally important. This is where HP's video series The Wolf comes in. Starring Christian Slater, these videos dramatise how human beings and the way they use technology can be the conduit through which hackers gain access to a company's systems.

In particular, the way printers are used within a company can turn them into an endpoint through which hackers can gain access to further information. For example, a compromised multi-function printer can be used to capture data containing usernames and passwords, that in turn enables discovery of information regarding a stock listing. This then has financial implications for the fictional company in The Wolf video, but it's a threat that's all too real. This story provides very useful education about how company staff can avoid falling prey to phishing attacks that give hackers access to endpoints such as printers. But HP is also honing the user experience of its products to make all this more intuitive, so keeping things secure is even easier to achieve.

Find out how to make security easier for your workers.