BURNABY, Canada—Teradici today launched the first beta of its HP Anyware enterprise IT software that offers secure access for people and teams to their digital workspaces from virtually any mix of infrastructure to any device.

The new offering integrates Teradici CAS and ZCentral Remote Boost features into one solution. With HP Anyware, workers can access their companies’ cloud, data center, edge, OS or workstation infrastructure with a PC, Mac, laptop, tablet, thin and zero clients from wherever they are needed, the company said.

HP Anyware replaces VPN file transfers by leveraging the PCoIP protocol to stream highly interactive desktop displays between hosts and end-user devices, pixel-by-pixel, so corporate assets can remain secure in on-site storage or any public cloud, it said.

“HP Anyware gives CIOs the flexibility to extend secure access to digital workspaces, anywhere their workforce wants to be, with an superb user experience that feels just like they’re in the office,” said Ziad Lammam, global head of Teradici product management, HP. “IT teams can future-proof their infrastructure today with new capabilities, such as high-performance workforce collaboration and access to macOS environments from the hybrid cloud, with more key features coming soon, including enhanced security with zero trust architectures.”

Features include: 

• Flexibility to support any host, including standalone or virtualized desktops and workstations, on-prem data centers, edge, cloud, multicloud or hybrid environments running Windows, Linux or macOS, and any end-user device running Windows, Linux, macOS, Chrome OS, iOS or Android; and PCoIP Zero Clients, PCoIP-Enabled Thin Clients, PC, Mac, laptops, tablets or integrated monitors.
• Security: PCoIP traffic secured by AES 256 encryption and Multifactor Authentication.
• Collaboration: Screen-sharing allows multiple people to join the same session and work together in real time. USB webcam support for video conferencing applications like Microsoft Teams and Zoom is offered.
• Productivity with support for 4K UHD throughput with multiple monitor support to ensure a color accurate, distortion-free user experience; A/V Sync for smooth video playback and synchronized audio; adaptive encoders for the best user experience even when network conditions change; and broad peripheral support with low-latency performance.

General availability is expected in summer 2022, the company said.

More information is available online.  

PALO ALTO, Calif.—HP Inc. today said it has completed its acquisition of remote computing software developer Teradici Corp. Details of the transaction were not immediately available.

Teradici has played an important role in enabling television broadcasters and other media and entertainment companies to maintain operations during the pandemic. Its technology has enabled those working remotely from home to use PCs, tablets and Chromebooks to access media content stored and software tools on office workstations or in the cloud and perform video editing, graphics creation and other common content creation tasks without experiencing latency.

The acquisition will enhance HP’s capabilities in the Personal Systems category by delivering new compute models and software-enabled digital services tailored for hybrid work, HP said.

“This deal supports our broader strategy to innovate at the heart of hybrid by creating new computing experiences, services and subscriptions that meet changing customer needs and drive profitable growth,” said Alex Cho, president of Personal Systems at HP Inc. “We are delighted to officially welcome the incredibly talented Teradici team to HP.”

The acquisition enables HP to enhance its remote services and solutions by offering customers a single subscription to Teradici Cloud Access Software and ZCentral Remote Boost. The integrated subscription will be available for purchase by the end of the calendar year, it said.

More information is available on the HP website.

PALO ALTO, Calif.—In a year when cybersecurity threats have already shut down websites and operations at some TV stations, the newest HP global Threat Insights Report finds “increasing cybercrime sophistication and a boom in monetization and hacking tools, while end users are still vulnerable to old tricks.”

The report from HP Wolf Security threat research team found a 65% rise in the use of hacking tools downloaded from underground forums and file sharing websites from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2021. 

Cybercrime is more organized than ever, with underground forums providing a perfect platform for threat actors to collaborate and share attack tactics, techniques and procedures, the report noted.

“The proliferation of pirated hacking tools and underground forums are allowing previously low-level actors to pose serious risks to enterprise security,” says Dr. Ian Pratt, global head of security, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “Simultaneously, users continue to fall prey to simple phishing attacks time and time again. Security solutions that arm IT departments to stay ahead of future threats are key to maximizing business protection and resilience.”

The report also found that cybercriminal collaboration is opening the door to bigger attacks against victims with Dridex affiliates selling access to breached organizations to other threat actors, so they can distribute ransomware. The drop in Emotet activity in Q1 2021 has led to Dridex becoming the top malware family isolated by HP Wolf Security.

Information stealers have also launched nastier malware. CryptBot malware – historically used as an infostealer to siphon off credentials from cryptocurrency wallets and web browsers – is also being used to deliver DanaBot – a banking trojan operated by organized crime groups, the researchers explained. 

“The cybercrime ecosystem continues to develop and transform, with more opportunities for petty cybercriminals to connect with bigger players within organized crime, and download advanced tools that can bypass defenses and breach systems,” observed Alex Holland, senior malware analyst, HP Inc. “We’re seeing hackers adapt their techniques to drive greater monetization, selling access on to organized criminal groups so they can launch more sophisticated attacks against organizations. Malware strains like CryptBot previously would have been a danger to users who use their PCs to store cryptocurrency wallets, but now they also pose a threat to businesses. We see infostealers distributing malware operated by organized criminal groups – who tend to favor ransomware to monetize their access.”

Currently, about 75% of malware detected was delivered via email, while web downloads were responsible for the remaining 25%. Threats downloaded using web browsers rose by 24%, partially driven by users downloading hacking tools and cryptocurrency mining software, the researchers found. 

The most common email phishing lures were invoices and business transactions (49%), while 15% were replies to intercepted email threads. Phishing lures mentioning COVID-19 made up less than 1%, dropping by 77% from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2021.

The most common type of malicious attachments were archive files (29%), spreadsheets (23%), documents (19%), and executable files (19%). 

In addition unusual archive file types – such as JAR (Java Archive files) – are being used to avoid detection and scanning tools, and install malware that’s easily obtained in underground marketplaces.

“As cybercrime becomes more organized, and smaller players can easily obtain effective tools and monetize attacks by selling on access, there’s no such thing as a minor breach,” concluded Pratt. “The endpoint continues to be a huge focus for cybercriminals. Their techniques are getting more sophisticated, so it’s more important than ever to have comprehensive and resilient endpoint infrastructure and cyber defense. This means utilizing features like threat containment to defend against modern attackers, minimizing the attack surface by eliminating threats from the most common attack vectors – email, browsers, and downloads.”

The data for the report was gathered within HP Wolf Security customer virtual-machines from January to June 2021.

The Threats Insight Report can be accessed here. 

SAN JOSE, CALIF.—A collaboration between HP and Nvidia will allow 3D content creators and other media professionals to use the new HP Z workstations to create virtual reality experiences. The configurations are Nvidia VR Ready systems equipped with Quadro professional GPUs. The HP configurations come in various units: HP Z240, HP Z640 and HP Z840.

HP Z840

The new workstations can use up to two Quadro M6000 24GB cards. HP systems with Dual M6000 24GB cards can use Nvidia’s GPU Affinity API and VR synchronization technologies to reportedly reduce image tearing. Each configuration is tested with optional HTC Vive head mounted displays.

The Nvidia VR Ready HP Z workstations are now available; the Dual M6000 24GB cards are available as an aftermarket option now and will be integrated in May. Starting price for the configurations is $4,363.

DALLAS & PALO ALTO, CALIF.—Imagine Communications has announced that it is partnering with Hewlett Packard Enterprises to align Imagine’s software with HPE’s hardware systems. The agreement expands on a partnership announced in 2015 for the two companies to collaborate on providing IT-based systems for communications service providers and the M&E (media and entertainment) sector, covering video production, playout and distribution. The new agreement is expected to extend into government, sports venues, corporate and houses of worship markets and will utilize HPE’s Communications & Media Solutions (CMS) organization, which provides systems integration services worldwide. HPE was formed in late 2015 when Hewlett Packard split the company into two divisions to focus separately on consumer and enterprise markets.

Steve Reynolds

The two companies characterize the partnership as a “first-of-its-kind” collaboration that is being driven by dramatic shifts in video consumption habits that require operators to transition to more flexible, versatile and agile production and distribution environments, and in particular, a move towards running specialized software on commodity, off-the-shelf hardware, according to Steve Reynolds, Imagine CTO.

“For the past couple of years we’ve been very vocal about our belief that the broadcast and content distribution ecosystems will eventually move entirely to an all IP-based platform, moving away from baseband and migrating toward packets, moving away from proprietary monolithic hardware systems and moving towards open computing platforms,” he said. “[This means that] ultimately everything will run in kind of a commodity off-the-shelf environment where you’re using common compute, and standards-based networking and storage.”

The agreement expansion calls for HPE to resell products from Imagine Communications’ playout, networking, distribution and ad management solutions portfolios, as well as products and intellectual property from HPE Software and CMS businesses. HPE’s CMS organization and channel partners will represent Imagine Communications’ entire product portfolio, including Platinum routers, Nexio servers and Versio, the company’s IP playout solution that helps media companies relocate playout, master control and channel origination operations to cloud and other virtualized environments.

It’s also intended to include Imagine Communications’ CloudXtream portfolio, comprised of cloud-based solutions that allow service providers to introduce new and highly personalized services. The Imagine Communications portfolio includes capabilities for live, linear, on-demand, and cloud DVR (cDVR) video delivery models, and enables dynamic ad insertion (DAI) capabilities for any of those models. CloudXtream, paired with HPE storage and compute resources, helps service providers generate new revenue, extend reach to new consumers and devices, and offers operational savings and substantial storage optimization improvements.

Imagine says the collaboration will provide media companies with a single source for all hardware, software, service and support needs. Products and solutions delivered through the collaboration are backed by HPE’s world-class support and services operations.

The scope of the relationship also includes the migration of Imagine Communications’ core products to HPE hardware platforms. Does this mean that Imagine is getting out of the hardware business altogether? That’s a bit of an “overstatement” Reynolds said, for the time being, at least.

“We really do believe that the infrastructure for television ultimately moves to a virtualized and maybe even cloud-based infrastructure,” he said. “And you don’t have to look much further like the projectwe’re doing with Disney to see that’s a real future; they’re running their broadcast operations out of a data center, 1,000 miles away from New York. And there are projects like that going on around the planet where the ‘platform’ that television is running on top of is shifting towards the cloud. And as that happens, companies like Imagine have to evolve to a model where we’re selling software and selling services but we’re not selling hardware.”

But Reynolds contends that Imagine will continue selling hardware. “We will probably always offer appliances,” he said. “That’s a model that the industry likes. But the hardware we offer will be commodity off-the-shelf hardware.”

Reynolds declined to indicate whether HPE hardware is being deployed as part of Imagine’s high-profile agreement to transition Disney to an IT-based cloud infrastructure.