HP Wolf Security Study Highlights Supply Chain Attacks

HP today unveiled the results of a global survey that underscores the mounting concerns about nation-state threat actors and their attacks on the physical supply chains of PCs, laptops, and printers. The survey, which gathered insights from 800 IT and security decision-makers responsible for device security, emphasizes the urgency for companies to safeguard device hardware and firmware integrity.

The study’s alarming findings show that nearly one in five organizations (19 per cent) report having been impacted by such attacks. The number is even higher in the US, where 29 per cent of respondents indicated their hardware supply chains had been compromised.

Furthermore, 35 per cent of the surveyed organizations believe that they or their acquaintances have been victims of attempts to implant malicious hardware or firmware. A staggering 91 per cent of respondents anticipate that nation-state threat actors will increasingly target hardware supply chains to embed malware or malicious components.

Alex Holland, Principal Threat Researcher at the HP Security Lab, highlighted the gravity of these threats. “System security is foundational to supply chain security. An attacker who compromises a device at the firmware or hardware layer gains profound visibility and control,” Holland explained. He added that such breaches are notoriously difficult to detect and remedy since they operate beneath the operating system level.

According to the survey, 78 per cent of IT and security decision-makers plan to increase their focus on both software and hardware supply chain security as a countermeasure against attacks during transit.

Concerns are also growing about the ability of organizations to detect tampering. Over half (51 per cent) of the respondents are apprehensive that they cannot verify if PC, laptop, or printer hardware and firmware have been tampered with during shipping. Moreover, 77 per cent of decision-makers expressed a need for tools to verify hardware integrity to combat the risk of device tampering effectively.

Boris Balacheff, Chief Technologist for Security Research and Innovation at HP Inc., emphasized the necessity of robust security measures. “In the current threat landscape, security management in a distributed hybrid workplace must begin with ensuring that devices are untampered at the hardware level,” Balacheff stated. He elaborated on HP’s commitment to providing PCs and printers that boast leading hardware and firmware security features, designed to support organizations in managing and remedying device security throughout the lifecycle of their devices.

HP Wolf Security recommends several proactive measures to enhance device hardware and firmware security:

• Implementing Platform Certificate technology to verify hardware and firmware integrity upon delivery.
  
  
• Managing firmware configurations securely through technologies like HP Sure Admin and HP Security Manager, which utilize public-key cryptography instead of traditional password-based methods.
  
  
• Utilizing vendor factory services to configure hardware and firmware security settings from the outset, employing tools such as HP Tamper Lock and Sure Recover.
  
  
• Continuously monitoring the compliance of device hardware and firmware configurations across device fleets.

HP plans to release more findings from this extensive study later in the year, promising further insights into the evolving challenges of hardware supply chain security.

Last Updated on 18 June 2026 by Nick Ross