A known weakness in BitLocker drive encryption allows an attacker with physical access to a laptop to bypass its protection in under a minute, using roughly £16 worth of hardware and minimal training. The technique, known as a TPM bus attack, intercepts communication between the Trusted Platform Module and the CPU to extract encryption keys.
At HP Imagine 2026 in New York, HP announced HP TPM Guard, a hardware and firmware solution that encrypts the link between the TPM and CPU, preventing interception. The TPM is cryptographically bound to the device, rendering it inoperable if removed or tampered with. HP says this makes it the first business notebook to close this particular security gap.
While BitLocker has previously been relied upon to protect data, today an attacker with a couple of hours of training and a $20 hardware kit can bypass that protection. Working closely with our silicon partners, HP has developed a hardware and firmware solution that prevents this entire class of threat, delivering the stronger protection customers have been asking for.
HP has submitted a proposal to the Trusted Computing Group to contribute TPM Guard technology as an industry standard. Alongside TPM Guard, HP announced new Wolf Security capabilities across its PC portfolio and an expanded LaserJet range featuring quantum-resistant cryptography designed to protect against future threats from cryptographically capable quantum computers.
