HP Strengthens and Simplifies UNIX Security

December 20, 2006; 03:04 AM
HP today reinforced its UNIX security offering with additions to the HP-UX 11i operating environment that extend and simplify the protection of data residing on HP Integrity servers.

The new features include encryption and hardening capabilities that help address growing data security and compliance challenges facing customers in virtually all industries, including public utilities, banking and healthcare. Fully integrated into the HP-UX 11i v2 operating environment and available at no extra cost, these enhancements allow customers with minimal security expertise to lock down and protect their IT environments.

“HP recognizes the importance of providing customers with rock solid, easily manageable security solutions. Unified protection is critical for companies looking to build a next-generation data center,” said Nick van der Zweep, director of virtualization and software, Business Critical Systems, HP. “Our new automated security features proactively mitigate risks, greatly reducing the costs of compliance.”

A part of HP’s Adaptive Infrastructure portfolio, HP-UX 11i now includes a comprehensive set of security features not found in any other UNIX operating system.

Comprehensive protection for data in-use and at-rest

With easy-to-deploy data protection features, HP helps IT administrators preserve their system’s integrity in the face of attack. The latest capabilities on HP-UX include:

* Encrypted Volume and File System – an operating system-based data encryption solution that helps ensure the confidentiality of critical business information by transparently protecting “data-at-rest.” The system automatically encrypts data on storage devices to prevent unauthorized use of data obtained through theft. It also allows customers to retain existing storage devices with no additional storage upgrades or modifications.

* Trusted Computing on Integrity – a low-cost embedded security chip option for select HP Integrity servers that offers solid, “machine-bound” protection for cryptographic keys, virtually eliminating vulnerabilities in software-only solutions.

* HP Protected Systems – applies the technology in HP-UX Security Containment to isolate data in compartments and allow customers to automatically configure and deploy more secure systems. By setting up fine-grained privileges and role-based access control, HP Protected Systems reduces configuration time and required customer skill level.

“HP Integrity servers running HP-UX 11i help ABB customers keep pace with the constantly changing, data-intensive regulatory issues found in the utilities industry,” said Gordon Woolbert, vice president and head of the Network Management business unit, ABB Inc. “The multiple layers of security in HP-UX increase adherence to stringent compliance requirements, helping to ensure network stability and optimum system performance.”

Addressing compliance challenges

To help reduce the rising costs of compliance, HP is expanding its portfolio of operating system-integrated offerings to further simplify common compliance-related tasks.

The latest version of HP-UX Bastille, an open-source software tool for security hardening, now features assessment and drift reporting features that check the consistency of a system’s hardening configuration with previously applied hardening policies. With HP Systems Insight Manager – HP’s Unified Infrastructure Management software for servers and storage – Bastille provides efficient multi-system deployment that increases the number of systems manageable by a single administrator.

The enhanced HP-UX AAA server offers enterprise customers simplified auditing and compliance for more flexible data base integration and easier user authentication. The server provides authentication, authorization and accounting services using RADIUS and EAP protocols to authenticate users and then account for time and billing use of network services.

More information about HP-UX security solutions is available at www.hp.com/go/hpux11isecurity.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2006, HP revenue totaled $91.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

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