ESET and Intel Expand Cooperation

ESET and Intel expand their joint efforts against ransomware by delivering advanced endpoint solutions that leverage Intel's latest hybrid processor architecture.

New ransomware variants can rewrite themselves after infiltrating a victim's environment, thereby evading traditional signature-based detection tools. Another emerging ransomware characteristic is concealment within virtual machines. These advanced obfuscation techniques create gaps in cybersecurity coverage. This is where hardware-based malware detection enters the picture, identifying both known and new malware to keep companies better protected. Malware always leaves a "fingerprint" when executed, and hardware-based monitoring of CPU telemetry can neutralize even the most complex ransomware and provide high resistance against numerous detection evasion attempts.

ESET has been collaborating with Intel for several years to deliver endpoint security software that can leverage hardware-based security and performance features—a significant advantage in the battle to detect advanced ransomware and other continually evolving threats. Joint customers have benefited from ESET's partnership with Intel since March 2022, when ESET introduced its ESET PROTECT multilayered cybersecurity suite, which integrates with and is automatically configured with Intel® Threat Detection Technology (Intel® TDT). Today, approximately 90 percent of ESET's end users operate on Intel-based systems. Integrated solutions running on Intel CPUs use artificial intelligence to analyze CPU telemetry in order to provide advanced detection against new and existing malware types, particularly ransomware.

Leveraging hybrid processors to optimize performance

As the need for advanced, artificial intelligence-focused threat detection grows, cybersecurity and IT leaders work to balance new technology deployments in remote and hybrid work scenarios against performance and productivity challenges. Endpoint security tools must not interfere noticeably to prevent other tasks from slowing down or users' batteries from draining. For this reason, ESET and Intel are expanding their joint efforts to deliver advanced endpoint solutions that leverage Intel's latest hybrid processor architecture. The new generation Intel® Core™ and Intel® Core™ Ultra processors feature two types of cores:

1. Performance cores that perform calculations at the highest speeds
2. Efficiency cores that perform calculations at relatively high speeds but with significantly lower power consumption

The connection between hybrid chip architecture and cybersecurity incident detection and response

If you are trying to detect the presence of malware, you likely want that process to run as quickly as possible. That is why you would run it on performance cores. However, some other cybersecurity processes, such as updates and background scans, can run on efficiency cores to conserve device power and optimize the performance of priority tasks.

ESET endpoint protection solutions can better meet the demands of remote and hybrid work scenarios by leveraging Intel's hybrid processor architecture and intelligently scheduling background workloads on efficiency cores. An additional significant benefit discovered in initial testing: laptops running hybrid-aware software achieved 5 to 8 percent power savings.

A safer tomorrow for businesses of all sizes

Előd Kironský, Vice President of ESET Endpoint Solutions and Security Technologies, said: "Our endpoint protection product is aware that it is running on a hybrid processor and can direct different workloads to leverage efficiency cores or performance cores. Assigning workloads to efficiency cores has no negative impact on product performance. Performance gains have been documented in a number of scenarios, and processes have completed faster. It is important that we continue to raise innovation to the highest level and address tomorrow's unknown threats through our work with innovation partners like Intel. These types of partnerships will pave the way to a safer tomorrow for businesses of all sizes, and we are proud to integrate them into the ESET technology ecosystem." This new "hybrid aware" feature is planned to be made available to ESET customers in early December.

Compound benefits for ESET customers running on Intel

Low impact on system performance has always been a priority area within ESET's multilayered software architecture and an important selling point for many customers. Being able to leverage technology that can help prevent and protect while maintaining performance is a win-win choice. Similarly, ESET has always advocated a multilayered approach to security. ESET and Intel have reached a new milestone in combating cyber threats by adding a silicon layer to our security stack.

ESET customers witness numerous benefits from the joint solution by leveraging the new expanded capabilities in the Intel relationship.

• Intel TDT's hardware-level malware detection and ongoing machine learning improvements are a powerful weapon in the fight against ransomware and other cyber attacks.
• The additional processing demands from this new hardware-level detection feature are largely offloaded to GPUs or efficiency cores, minimizing impacts on system performance and end-user productivity.
• Since the joint solution is automatically enabled and runs, it provides immediate support for ransomware protection without increasing IT complexity or administrative burden.

Customers seeking to benefit from next-generation cybersecurity will not have to wait long for ESET and Intel's continuous innovations. Collaborative work is currently underway to develop new features and tools leveraging the neural processing unit (NPU) in Intel Core Ultra processors and to expand ESET's leadership in AI-enabled computing and AI-specific security.