Having a lower profile is often a major factor in determining if a piece of tech is trendy or nerdy, despite how badly it's needed. HP and 3M have teamed up to lower the profile of privacy screens, making it a bit cooler to protect screens from prying eyes.
There's an uptick of laptops being used in public places, and visual hacking, such as QR interception, is becoming widespread. The trend warrants some form of protection for laptop owners.
It is easy for cyber criminals to steal information just by preying on unprotected screens. They can, for instance, swipe sensitive information from the QR code on boarding passes. Using a QR app, which is often free and abundant in app stores, thieves can quickly scan boarding passes to gain access to frequent flyer accounts, mailing addresses and even voting records.
Cyber crimes simply aren't slowing down and they could continue to climb. For this reason, HP called on 3M to help build privacy screens into HP laptops, giving consumers one more defensive tool to combat cyber offenses.
The privacy screen will be capable of locking down displays on demand. Users of HP notebooks will have the ability to lower their guards and enjoy the full brilliance of their displays when they are in private areas. In public, they can raise the guards to keep potential hackers from stopping by for a bit.
Visual hacking is a critical threat to businesses and their employees, says Alex Cho, vice president and general manager of Commercial PCs at HP.
"We're working with 3M to deliver world-class solutions that not only protect the privacy of the individual user, but also provide security for valuable company assets," states Cho.
Visual hacking is a growing problem, so 3M is investing in technology to combat it, says Herve Gindre, vice president and general manager of Display Materials and Systems Division at 3M.
"By integrating our technology into the displays on HP notebooks, businesses will be able to address this concerning security threat and users will be able to get a privacy solution that can easily be switched on to help prevent visual hacking," says Gindre.
