E-Business
HP Introduces Durable Devices for Blended Learning Environments
HP Inc. has introduced HP Fortis laptops, a new portfolio of PCs built to withstand the rigours of education environments.
Teaching and learning has forever changed. Before the pandemic, student PCs typically stayed in the classroom for occasional use.
Today, learning is happening beyond just the classroom including the playground, on the bus, and at home.
The PC is a critical tool for digital learning and students want devices that stand up to daily wear and tear, help them connect to the digital classroom, and make it easier to get more done.
“While hybrid work is the new standard for business, blended learning is the new standard for education. This requires technology with increased durability, enhanced connectivity, and large screens so content can be accessible and engaging from wherever learning happens,” said Bill Avey, General Manager and Global Head of Education, Personal Systems, HP Inc.
“Designed with features that reduce accidental drops, keep keys and ports intact, stand up to heavy wear and tear, and make it easier to clean and sanitise, HP is committed to providing students with the devices and PC experiences they need to be successful in these new learning environments.”
The new PCs include the new HP Fortis portfolio which embodies the strength and durability learners need to help withstand drops, resist spills, and keep keys where they belong: on the keyboard. The textured surfaces make it easier for students of all ages to grip and handle the lightweight devices.
The reinforced power and USB-C® ports limit damage from accidentally tugged cables, while the mechanically reinforced corners and co-molded rubber trims absorb shocks and reinforced hinges reduce stress on the hinges from repeated opening and closing.
The full-skirted anchored keyboards prevent keys from being removed when students are fidgeting and may want to pick at them during class. The keyboard also resists spills up to 350 ml/11.8 oz.
With more students going back to the classroom, it is important to keep devices clean. The chassis, keyboard, and display for the devices can be wiped down using commonly available household disinfecting and cleaning wipes. For enhanced safety and protection, the devices feature a new metal shield that helps protect the battery from external damage from daily drops or tumbles.
Built for the greater demands being placed on today’s students, the HP Fortis 14 devices feature 14” diagonal displays giving students large visual screen space to stay productive – whether it’s taking notes while watching a lecture or creating visual stories with ease.
Large screen space gives students the freedom to engage content while consuming it at the same time. Students can also see their work clearly with optional bright anti-glare displays.
The HP Fortis 14” G10 Chromebook is purpose-built for cloud-native learning. Powered by Intel® processors with optional 4G LTE for reliable connectivity, the Chromebook allows students to access their classroom from almost anywhere.
The 180-degree lay-flat hinge combined with the 88-degree wide-viewing angle HD camera and dual mics provide an excellent collaborative learning experience. The integrated HP Privacy Camera provides peace of mind to protect users from malicious surveillance, while Chrome Education Upgrade makes the device easy to deploy and simple to manage.
The HP ProBook Fortis 14” G9 and the HP ProBook Fortis 14” G10 help students to confidently move through their day. With HP ProBook Fortis 14” G9 – Powered by Intel processors with Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Pro Education or Windows 11 SE, students can easily collaborate and reliably access assignments with Wi-Fi 6 and optional 4G LTE connectivity.
HP ProBook Fortis 14” G10 – Powered with Intel 12th Gen Intel® i3/i5 processors and Windows 11 or Windows 11 Pro Education, enables students transition quickly between writing documents, running STEM applications, editing video, and more.
The latest in connectivity – Wi-Fi 6E – allows students to cut through crowded networks, while the battery learns students’ work patterns and optimises power consumption with intelligent charging. HP Wolf Security for Business makes it easy for IT to protect student devices with a hardware-enforced, always-on, resilient defence.
The HP Pro x360 Fortis 11” G9 and HP Pro x360 Fortis 11” G10 embrace the different ways learning happens. The 360-degree design gives students the freedom to choose the mode that best suits them and their assignment.
The optional world-facing 5 MP cameras and rechargeable pen with reinforced tip allows students to create, capture, and draw in laptop, tablet, tent, stand, or book mode. The rechargeable pen is stored and charged in an optional water-resistant garage so it’s ready to go whenever creativity strikes.
HP Pro x360 Fortis 11” G9 – Powered by Intel processors with Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Pro Education or Windows 11 SE, students can access assignments and apps seamlessly with Wi-Fi 6 and optional 4G LTE.
HP Pro x360 Fortis 11” G10 – Powered with Intel 12th Gen Intel® i3/i5 processors and Windows 11 Pro or Windows 11 Pro Education, the device helps students tackle demanding assignments, like editing videos for media class or analysing lab data.
Wi-Fi 6E delivers fast, dependable network connections for learning in the cloud. HP Wolf Security for Business provides a resilient defence against malware and hacking. Equipped with intelligent charging, the device’s battery learns students’ work patterns and optimises power consumption.
The HP Fortis 11” G9 Q Chromebook, powered by the robust Snapdragon® 7c compute platform, is exceptionally equipped for cloud-native mobile learning and provides secure and reliable access to the classroom.
This Chromebook is HP’s thinnest and lightest Fortis device built for the rigors of today’s students and providing ultimate portability. It boots in seconds so students can spend more time learning and less time waiting. The device’s 4G LTE connectivity makes education more accessible and equitable for all students to learn from virtually anywhere.
The HP 320 FHD Webcam and HP 325 FHD Webcam are easy-to-use all-in-one webcams for users everywhere. Enjoy crisp images with 66-degree wide angles that offer full HD at 1080p and 30 fps video quality for a natural conversational feel.
The webcams are easy to set up with USB-A, have 360-degree rotation for varying positions, and feature a removable lens cover for privacy.
As part of HP’s Sustainable Impact strategy, HP is aiming to empower millions of people with what they need to participate in the digital economy.
HP is committed to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025 and accelerating digital equity for 150 million people by 2030.
Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) experts at the 10th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2025 held recently, talked about supply chain attacks and reported that by the end of 2024 a total of 14,000 malicious packages were found in open-source projects, a 48% increase compared to the end of 2023. 42 million versions of open-source packages have been examined by Kaspersky throughout 2024 in search for vulnerabilities.
Open-source is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. Popular open-source packages include GoMod, Maven, NuGet, npm, PyPI, and others.
These are tools that power countless applications and help developers easily find, install, and manage pre-built code libraries, making it simpler to build software by reusing code others have written. Attackers take advantage of the popularity of these and other packages.
In March 2025, the Lazarus Group was reported to have deployed several malicious npm packages, which were downloaded multiple times before removal. These packages contained malware to steal credentials, cryptocurrency wallet data, and deploy backdoors, targeting developers’ systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The attack leveraged GitHub repositories for added legitimacy, highlighting the group’s sophisticated supply chain tactics. Kaspersky’s GReAT also found other npm packages related to this attack. Malicious npm packages could have been integrated into web development, cryptocurrency platforms, and enterprise software, risking widespread data theft and financial losses.
In 2024, a sophisticated backdoor was discovered in XZ Utils versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1, a widely used compression library in Linux distributions. Inserted by a trusted contributor, the malicious code targeted SSH servers, enabling remote command execution and threatening countless systems globally.
Detected before widespread exploitation due to performance anomalies, the incident highlighted the dangers of supply chain attacks. XZ Utils is integral to operating systems, cloud servers, and IoT devices, making its compromise a threat to critical infrastructure and enterprise networks.
In 2024, Kaspersky’s GReAT discovered that attackers uploaded malicious Python packages like chatgpt-python and chatgpt-wrapper to PyPI, mimicking legitimate tools for interacting with ChatGPT APIs.
These packages, designed to steal credentials and deploy backdoors, capitalised on the popularity of AI development to trick developers into downloading them. These packages could have been used in AI development, chatbot integrations, and data analytics platforms, endangering sensitive AI workflows and user data.
“Open-source software is the backbone of many modern solutions, but its openness is being weaponised. The 50% rise in malicious packages by the end of 2024 shows attackers are actively embedding sophisticated backdoors and data stealers in popular packages, which millions rely on.
“Without rigorous vetting and real-time monitoring, a single compromised package can trigger a global breach. Organisations need to secure the supply chain before the next XZ Utils-level attack succeeds,” comments Dmitry Galov, Head of Research Center for Russia and CIS at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
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