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Hardware Security Features for Business PCs

Learn why hardware-based security features are a critical part of protecting your business.1 2

Hardware Security Basics:

  • Software security alone is no longer enough to fully protect PCs.

  • Hardware-based security features help establish a root of trust at the most foundational layer.

  • Intel® Hardware Shield to help secure PCs below the operating system (OS) and provide built-in advanced threat detection out of the box.

  • Intel® Hardware Shield is designed to deliver full-stack PC protection to help IT enforce zero-trust policies and improve enterprise security defenses.

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Laying a solid foundation of protection for your business PCs takes a combination of software- and hardware-based security features. With Intel vPro®, security is augmented through technologies rooted in the hardware.

What Is Hardware Security?

When it comes to securing business computer hardware, many IT administrators think primarily of software-based solutions, such as antimalware and antivirus software. However, cyberattacks are moving down the system stack. Software security alone is no longer enough to protect PCs. Protection must be rooted in the hardware itself.

Why Hardware-Based Security Features Matter?

From global enterprises to government institutions to small businesses, computer hardware security is absolutely critical for all organizations, across all industries.

A business that experiences a security attack can suffer lasting damage. To start, cryptomining attacks (or cryptojacking) can slow down performance and waste resources. Ransomware attacks hit both a company's wallet as well as its reputation. Intellectual property and other mission-critical data can be stolen, setting businesses back years. Finally, there's the cost of user downtime, which adds up quickly when employees are unable to work.

Today, the office is everywhere—and that means more devices accessing the corporate network beyond the firewall. In addition, data and applications are moving to the cloud, where they can be accessed anytime by a range of devices. These devices must remain secure, regardless of where they are being used.

At each layer of the system stack, PCs are only as secure as the next-lowest layer. Security must be built on a root of trust that is established at the most foundational layer: the silicon.

Intel's Hardware-Based Security Technologies

Your PC hardware design makes a big difference in the strength of your security. Intel® products are engineered with built-in security technologies to help protect potential attack surfaces. Because these technologies are rooted in silicon, they can operate without being affected by corrupted software. This helps create a trusted foundation for computing and helps protect systems from the latest cyber threats.

Intel vPro® Platform

For business PCs, Intel offers a platform that was specially built for business with enhanced security features to help protect against modern cyber threats. The Intel vPro® offers performance, manageability, and stability all in one integrated platform. It provides a more secure foundation out of the box with hardware-based protection against firmware attacks. The platform also includes capabilities for remote access, so IT administrators can install security patches and repair PCs.

All Intel vPro®-based devices with Windows OS have Intel® Hardware Shield, a set of built-in PC protections that include:

  • Security technologies below the OS to help protect hardware, firmware, and software. This enables supply chain transparency, secure boot, and additional Windows security features that allow IT administrators to verify the state of hardware, firmware, and software integrity.
  • Meets and exceeds Secured-core PC standards, the new model of endpoint security excellence, with a combination of hardware, software, and identity protection features right out of the box.
  • Application and data security to provide the hardware resources needed for virtualized workloads and reinforce virtualization-based security (VBS) with hardware-based security features that help protect applications at runtime and data in memory.
  • Advanced threat detection capabilities, which augment existing security solutions with Intel® CPU telemetry to detect attack signatures and anomalies. Examples include crypto mining and ransomware that might otherwise pass by unnoticed.

Another capability of Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS is Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT), which gives IT administrators remote access control to PCs. IT administrators can perform remote patching and remediation, even when PCs are out of band. For cloud-based access to these capabilities, IT administrators can use Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA). Intel® Active Management Technology also integrates with Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM) to give you greater flexibility in how you use it.

The Future of Hardware Security

In the coming years, security threats will continue to evolve. To protect their data, devices, and users, businesses of all sizes should pursue a full-stack strategy that combines hardware-based security features with software.

Today, Intel® Hardware Shield plays a critical role in system hardening and is a cornerstone for a more secure PC fleet. We’re continuing to explore how to detect and protect against new threats, working with our ecosystem partners on solutions that help prevent vulnerabilities from being exploited. Working together, we can design PCs that help deliver high levels of assurance for your business.

Intel vPro® has hardware-based features designed to provide a more secure foundation for your PCs and your business.

Security Benefits of Intel vPro®

Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS provides hardware-enhanced security features that help protect all computing stack layers. Businesses can benefit from supply chain transparency and traceability of PC components, advanced memory scans, and hardware-based support of Windows security services. Furthermore, IT has the ability to quickly roll out software fixes on critical vulnerabilities to managed PCs.

Explore the Intel vPro® platform

Endpoint Security

Endpoints are the portals hackers use to access your business’ critical data or embed malicious code in your systems. And today’s workplace has a wide array of devices that can challenge endpoint security. Built-in to all Windows PCs on Intel vPro®, Intel® Hardware Shield enables your IT team to implement policies in the hardware layer to help ensure that if malicious code is injected, it cannot access data.

System Hardening

IT will often use system hardening to optimize their endpoint security strategy, and Intel® Hardware Shield makes that process more comprehensive. The benefit to your organization includes configurable firmware protection, BIOS security to reduce its attack surface, and advanced threat detection.

Security Patching and Threat Remediation

Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) enables remote access and management across the organization. Your IT team can use these technologies to help execute timely security patching and threat remediation. Security patching can update large populations of devices regardless of their location. Threat remediation is addressed by implementing countermeasures to help reduce an endpoint’s susceptibility to a specific attack.

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Product and Performance Information

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All versions of the Intel vPro® platform require an eligible Intel processor, a supported operating system, Intel® LAN and/or WLAN silicon, firmware enhancements, and other hardware and software necessary to deliver the manageability use cases, security features, system performance, and stability that define the platform. See intel.com/performance-vpro for details.

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Performance varies by use, configuration and other factors. Learn more at www.Intel.com/PerformanceIndex. No product or component can be absolutely secure. Your costs and results may vary. Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. Intel does not control or audit third-party data. You should consult other sources to evaluate accuracy. © Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.