HP stars Christian Slater as The Wolf for security campaign

Hewlett-Packard steps up to campaign for global awareness on security risks facing businesses and consumers with a series of initiatives, kicking off with Christian Slater’s portrayal of the printer-hacking The Wolf.

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At first glance, it appears laughable that the suit-and-tie-wearing Slater would want to target harmless printing machines. But it actually mirrors the real world, HP claims, because unsecure printers can be used to get into the otherwise protected system.

“Cyberattacks on enterprises across the world are only increasing. There have been several hacks in companies where folks have gotten in through the printer,” explained HP Global Head of Marketing for Imaging and Printing Vikrant Batra in a report by Ad Age.

“Securing devices, data and identities is an imperative in driving continued confidence in technology and with whom and with what we choose to connect. HP is leading from the front to continually make meaningful progress in securing the future of computing,” added HP Philippines Managing Director Pallasena V. Viswanath in a separate statement.

The first six minutes of The Wolf shows Slater using the printer to get into the network and steal vital information in an enterprise, and ends with a threat: “Why am I exposing the financial world’s most important secrets? Because I can. And who knows? Maybe next time I’ll come after yours.”

Behind the scenes, Slater is not the hacking character; in fact, he himself is supportive of the initiative. “Hacking is a serious and growing problem for businesses and consumers. When HP asked me to partner on this series, I thought it was a great opportunity to help educate the public about how to better protect against cyberattacks,” the Mr. Robot star said.

The Wolf, directed by BAFTA and Emmy nominee Lance Acord and edited by Academy Award winner Kirk Baxter, is composed of four two-minute episodes as of the moment, with updates coming over in the next few months as HP expands its campaign beyond this digital storytelling.