 “When IT managers think of information security, they generally don’t think of it as something that’s ever finished,” says Chris Whitener, Chief Strategist for HP Secure Advantage. “It can take as much as 15 to 25 percent of the budget—and every time there’s a new series of attacks, they’re faced with a whole new round of unfamiliar technologies and defenses that they have to invest in.”
When IT managers implement new firewalls, new anti-virus software and other security measures, not only do they have no sure way of knowing if it’s all doing the job, but compatibility also becomes a problem.
Information security is a top priority for CIOs. The need to maintain business continuity, defend against internal and external threats, enable secure data-sharing and meet tough new security regulations all keep security top of mind with IT managers.
But with threats and responses changing so fast, it’s tough to stay ahead of the game. The implementation of common security approaches such as hard perimeters, network access control, identity management and encryption is often incomplete, poorly integrated and intrusive. As security technologies and processes proliferate, workflow suffers, and frustrated end users either devise insecure workarounds—or just ignore security altogether.
What enterprises need is a unified strategy that secures data and resources while validating regulatory compliance from the desktop to the data center. Vendors must respond with security products and frameworks based on a coherent view that unifies products, systems, policies and strategies.
Getting the complete spectrum of enterprise security products and services to work together simply and efficiently is the fundamental idea behind Secure Advantage, HP’s security portfolio of servers, storage, software and services.
The security standard
“With Secure Advantage,” Whitener says, “we’re trying not only to provide security the same way customers perceive attributes like quality, value, availability, dependability—things you associate with a good product—but also to reduce the issues that arise when you put security products together.”
Secure Advantage leverages the expertise of HP’s Atalla Security Products division (Whitener also serves as Atalla’s General Manager), which has a decades-long track record in encryption, key management and identity management. Atalla developed the personal identification number (PIN) that underpins global ATM transactions, and the Data Encryption Standard (DES) that evolved into the patents behind the encryption keys used in ATM and EFT (electronic funds transfer) transactions. The “Atalla box” secures some 70 percent of transactions in the global financial network—a value of $9 trillion a day.
HP’s breadth means that a good idea goes the extra mile. As an example, the same encryption technology that secures PIN printing, where users must enter a unique PIN before they can print secured documents, also contributes to the key management appliance used for bulk encryption of tape drives, as well as to the built-in security provided for HP desktop and laptop computers.
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