HP puts SIM cards in laptops to lock or erase without Wi-Fi

Under the name HP Wolf Protect & Trace, companies can remotely lock or wipe employee laptops in the event of theft or misuse.

With Wolf Connect, HP laptops can already be managed centrally by the IT department. You can monitor the fleet of laptops from a clear dashboard in the cloud, but what if a device is stolen, infected, or used maliciously?

As long as that person is not connected to the internet, there is nothing you can do. The lock or delete command may have been sent, but cannot be executed without an internet connection.

With the new HP Wolf Protect & Trace, from autumn you can configure a laptop with an additional option that inserts a permanent SIM module into the device. You can’t use it for mobile internet, but HP gives IT teams almost global access to one device anywhere in the world. As soon as the device receives a signal somewhere, the device can become active.

Locked in five seconds

In a demo session at the HP Amplify conference, we see how the IT team can lock a device without a WiFi connection in five seconds. If desired, the IT department can display text on the screen when it is locked, for example to contact the person responsible.

You can unlock the device again with a PIN code. This PIN is automatically generated by the administrator in the Wolf Security dashboard. By the way, the locking takes place just before the BIOS, which gives users no chance to mess around with the system. This is possible thanks to the additional chip (with a SIM card) configured in the laptop.

In addition to locking, IT teams can also remotely wipe the device under critical circumstances. Thanks to the SIM module, they can also easily locate the device. Deleting the laptop does not affect the hardware component in HP Wolf Protect & Trace.

subscription included

HP plans to roll out the new feature later this year. The introduction is initially planned for September 2023. Despite the included SIM card, you do not have to consider a subscription. When purchasing a laptop with the SIM option for HP Wolf Protect & Trace, several years are included as standard. The exact number of years will be announced shortly before launch.

When asked whether a laptop with a conventional SIM module can also be protected under HP Wolf Protect & Trace, the response is hesitant. It’s theoretically possible, but the brand hasn’t decided yet if it wants to offer this feature. Rogue users could simply remove the SIM card, which is not possible with the hardware option where the SIM card is soldered to the motherboard.

The feature will be rolled out worldwide. The organizations must now check whether the surcharge for HP Wolf Protect & Trace (which is not yet known) is worth it for the entire configuration. It could be said that no price is too high when it comes to extra security, but it remains an extra option per device that comes with it.