E-Business
HP Wolf Security Survey Reveals IT Leader Concern Over Firmware Attacks
HP Inc. has released research from HP Wolf Security showing changing workforce dynamics are creating new challenges for IT teams around firmware security. As business workforces become increasingly distributed, IT leaders say it’s harder than ever to defend against firmware attacks.
The shift to hybrid work models has transformed how organizations manage endpoint security, while also highlighting new challenges for IT teams around securing device firmware. The HP Wolf Security global survey of 1,100 IT leaders reveals that:
- The threat of firmware attacks is a growing concern for IT leaders now that hybrid workers are connecting from home networks more frequently: With hybrid or remote work now the norm for many employees there is a greater risk of working on potentially unsecure home networks meaning that the level of threat posed by firmware attacks has risen.
More than eight-in-ten (83%) IT leaders say firmware attacks against laptops and PCs now pose a significant threat, while 76% of ITDMs said firmware attacks against printers pose a significant threat.
- Managing firmware security is becoming harder and taking longer in the era of hybrid work, leaving organizations exposed: More than two-thirds (67%) of IT leaders say protecting against, detecting, and recovering from firmware attacks has become more difficult and time-consuming due to the increase in home working, with 64% saying the same of analyzing the security of firmware configuration.
As a result, 80% of IT leaders are worried about their capacity to respond to endpoint firmware attacks.
Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc. comments: “Firmware attacks are very disruptive and much harder to detect or remediate than your typical malware – often requiring expert and even manual intervention to fix.
“This increases the cost and complexity of remediation considerably, particularly in hybrid environments where devices are not on site for IT teams to access.
“Having more endpoints sitting outside of the protection of the corporate network also reduces visibility and increases exposure to attacks coming in via unsecured networks.”
“At the same time, we are seeing a rise in destructive attacks – such as wiper malware. Last year, our research team saw attackers conducting reconnaissance on firmware configurations, with the likely intent of exploiting unsecured configurations to weaponize for financial gain.
“Once an attacker has gained control over the firmware configuration, they can exploit their position to gain persistence and hide from anti-malware solutions that live in the Operating System (OS).
“This gives them an advantage, allowing them to stealthily maintain persistence on target devices, so they can gain access to infrastructure across the enterprise and maximize their impact.”
Despite the clear risks that firmware attacks pose to organizations, device security is not always a major consideration in the hardware procurement process, with many organizations continuing to use technologies that are not built with security in mind.
This issue is being exacerbated by the new shadow IT whereby employees are purchasing and connecting devices outside of IT purview while working remotely. HP Wolf Security’s Out of Mind and Out of Sight report found that 68% of office workers that purchased devices to support remote work said security wasn’t a major consideration in their purchasing decision. Furthermore, 43% didn’t have their new laptop or PC checked or installed by IT or security.
Boris Balacheff, Chief Technologist for Security Research and Innovation at HP Labs comments: “Security must become part of the procurement process when purchasing new IT devices. Organizations need to play the long game, because the devices you procure today will be the environment you have to manage and protect tomorrow.
“State-of-the-art device security delivers protection for firmware against malware as well as physical tampering, with detection both below and above the OS and autonomous self-healing recovery from the hardware up – but this will only help address the issue for organizations that know to ask the right questions when they procure new devices.”
HP warns that one of the key issues that businesses face is that many organizations are still reliant on legacy devices that were built to older industry standards, where design for manageable security and resilience at scale was not a focus for hardware and firmware design. This is leaving a gap in enterprise security that could take years to close.
Balacheff concludes: “As attackers continue to invest in the capability to attack and disrupt PCs and other OT and IoT devices at the firmware level, organizations also need to learn how to monitor the state of the art in device security to keep updating procurement security requirements accordingly.
“This is what will enable leading organizations to stay ahead of emerging threats and protect, detect and remediate firmware attacks at scale in the era of hybrid work.”
President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.
He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.
“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.
“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.
He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.
In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.
The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.
Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.
It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.
African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.
The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.
It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.
“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.
“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.
Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.
Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.
“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.
From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.
Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.
In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.
By Nancy Werteen
When you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.”
But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about 4.88 million dollars a year.
Modern hackers aren’t trying to get into your computer; they’re trying to get into you.
“They’ll try to learn about you a little bit, and they’ll try to use that information against you to try to get you to complete some action, maybe to send somebody some money,” said Kevin Moran, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster, University of Central Florida.
IBM calls this human hacking, because it exploits human error instead of system error.
“With people just being busy and maybe not very carefully checking some of the emails or the phone calls that they get, can be something unfortunately that people can fall victim to,” said Moran.
Also known as social engineering, this often takes the form of phishing, where the hacker tries to “fish” the information out of you by impersonating family, friends, or even your bank.
There’s also baiting, where the hacker baits you with something of value. Remember the Nigerian prince scam?
That’s a famous example of baiting. There’s also pretexting, where the hacker will claim the victim has already been hacked, and that the hacker can fix it if you just send over your passwords. So, what can you do?
“Just as a rule of thumb, instead of clicking on links and emails, just go to the website yourself. And that will prevent, a lot of these types of attacks from happening,” explained Moran.
Phishing can take many forms.
Spear phishing targets people with access to confidential information, often to get access into an entire business, and whale phishing targets CEOs or political figures.
Search engine phishing is when hackers create fake websites promising services or goods you’ll never receive.
Angler phishing is when hackers create fake social media accounts impersonating famous people or companies.
Finally, vishing and smishing is phishing done through phone calls and texts respectively.
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