The continued shift to hybrid work (and play) marked a significant departure from pandemic norms. While health protocols reverted, the digital realm saw enduring changes. Amidst this transformation, security has emerged as a crucial but often overlooked aspect of personal and business computing, joining (speed) processor power as a significant factor in users upgrading PCs.

And, despite the recent passing of co-founder Gordon Moore, Intel has continued to advance in its approach to innovation, including prioritization of attributes like security and efficiency, which speak to the needs of modern computing.

Looking back, PC sales surged during the peak of COVID restrictions in 2020 and 2021.¹ They saw a significant decline by 13.7% in 2022 and the first half of 2023 as restrictions eased, according to International Data Corporation data from August 2023.

This post-COVID normalization of PC sales may have served to mask a notable transformation underway in the form of hardware-based threat detection. For the past several years, business PCs have shipped with Intel Threat Detection Technology (Intel TDT), providing an added layer of security. This enhanced protection may already be integrated into your endpoint security software, which when paired with an Intel vPro powered machine can deliver an effective hardware plus software solution, helping to keep you safe from advanced threats.

<image1. Canalys estimates (sell-in), PC Analysis, January 2024>

Enabling security directly from the silicon layer adds a hardware ‘eye’ for malicious payloads like cryptomining and ransomware by applying AI to low-level silicon data for runtime threat execution monitoring. Intel is the world’s only chipmaker that has developed the capability to enable CPU-level telemetry to assist endpoint security software from leading vendors.

In order to avoid potential strain on computing resources from AI computations, Intel’s optimization of Intel TDT can shift compute-intensive workloads from the CPU to the integrated GPU, allowing threat detection to operate at high performance, while ensuring little to no impact on the end user’s other critical tasks. Integration with endpoint security software like ESET PROTECT also allows for shared detections, enhancing security for PC fleets.

When coupled with modern endpoint software like ESET PROTECT, recognized for its low impact on performance, low false positives rates, and multi-layered technology fed by industry-leading malware and threat research, security receives an immediate boost. While PC fleets with integrated security are becoming increasingly widespread in 2024, the ongoing demand for compute power highlights that security remains a journey, especially in the context of the demanding hybrid work model, which introduces new threats and demands for both processor power and efficiency.

Intel engineers aim to establish collective security through Intel TDT’s integration with leading security software vendors, delivering scalable protections primarily tailored for business fleets. ESET, with millions of business endpoints in the SMB segment alone, integrated Intel TDT with ESET PROTECT in March 2022 via ESET Endpoint Security. This integration allows the ESET detection engine to co-validate threats with Intel TDT, leveraging ESET’s telemetry and both protection and prevention capabilities, and simultaneously ensuring high efficacy security without compromising system performance.

The collaboration extends from select 9th Gen Intel® Core™ processors to the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra processors, leveraging improved hardware telemetry capabilities in Intel’s processors for enhanced threat monitoring. These enhanced detections leveraging TDT’s CPU telemetry + AI-based technology and ESET Endpoint Security provide an additional layer of security for SMBs, augmenting ESET’s multilayered security solution without requiring additional micromanagement by security admins.

Hybrid work necessitates steady advances in performance, efficiency, and security, which means that Moore’s Law remains relevant in supporting these demands, particularly with hardware-based security. While updates to processors still prioritize performance, there’s a noticeable shift toward deploying multicore solutions with distinct cores built for performance and those built for power efficiency.

In March 2023, IDC recognized Intel’s success in advocating for a PC refresh to enhance the end-user experience, elevate remote management capabilities, and establish a layered defense between hardware and software² via Intel TDT. Furthermore, this alignment with modern work methods, such as hybrid work arrangements and online collaboration, enhances productivity while keeping efficiency and security in mind, without a compromise.

Regarding security, IDC also highlights the effectiveness of Intel vPro’s hardware-based AI threat detection and silicon-based Windows 11 virtualization in improving detection efficacy while reducing a computer’s attack surface.

In conclusion, the integration of ESET PROTECT with Intel TDT reflects a collaborative shift in the cybersecurity landscape, offering opportunities for wider integration among hardware and software providers. IDC emphasizes that modern endpoint security extends beyond software products, encompassing collaboration among various stakeholders in the ecosystem. This collaborative approach is timely, given the evolving cybersecurity needs of hybrid work environments, collaboration tools, and cloud services.

While the holistic approach demonstrated by the ESET – Intel integration is delivering immediate value to ESET’s customers, it also underscores the importance of incorporating enhanced prevention and protection measures when refreshing PC fleets for hybrid work. ESET R&D teams are collaborating with Intel to leverage future generations of processors to ensure the best of hardware and software are working together to deliver robust security solutions.

¹Forbes, July 10, 2020 – Gartner’s preliminary PC sales results for the second quarter of 2020 show huge gains for several of the leading PC makers, not least HP, which saw sales increase by 17.1% year-on-year to push the company within a whisker of reclaiming its spot as the world’s biggest maker. Lenovo clings to that title, shipping 16.197m units in the quarter to HP’s 16.165m.

²IDC, Quick Take, Can your PCs deliver the end-user experience, manageability, and security you need now and in the future?, #lcUS50531323; March 2023

BRATISLAVA — May 3, 2024 — Experts from ESET joined with the combined team of the Slovak Republic and Hungary militaries to participate in Locked Shields 2024 – the biggest and most complex cyber defense exercise in the world. The live-fire exercise, involving 40 countries, saw ESET contribute security solutions and more than 50 experts to a number of tactical teams, ensuring a top-flight position for the central European country which participates in the annual exercise run by NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (NATO CCD COE). 

With collaboration being the focus of the 14th annual exercise (the slogan being “Cooperation Is Our Protection”), ESET supplied the Slovak-Hungarian team with defensive capabilities which particularly contributed to the team’s top three placings in cyber threat intelligence, client-side protection, forensics and strategic communications, taking home an overall 4th place position among the 18 participating teams made up of similar cross-country units.

The Slovak-Hungarian team successfully followed its strategic objectives and was built not only on expertise and state-of-the-art security technologies, but most importantly on communication and intensive cooperation between the participants, who worked together to defend the vital infrastructure of fictitious country Berylia in the face of massive cyber attacks designed to cripple the country and create public unrest.

“Locked Shields promotes the concept that collaboration is one of NATO’s greatest strengths – increasing the level of protection for all member states, their people, businesses and critical infrastructure,” said Juraj Malcho, CTO of ESET.  “ESET is proud to support the Slovak Ministry of Defense in this live fire exercise, by providing experts in cyber security, forensics, threat intelligence, legal and strategic communications, as well as our XDR cybersecurity platform ESET PROTECT. Together, we are stronger against any powerful adversary wishing to cause disruption.”

The Slovak team was led by the Cyber Defense Center of Slovak Military Intelligence. During the exercise, the Slovak government sector was represented by experts from the ministries of defense, finance, interior, transport, and foreign affairs. ESET’s experts and technologies contributed to the rapid detection and response to cyberattacks. Experts from the Slovak branch of Palo Alto Networks and Orange Slovensko a.s. also helped with both securing and management of the infrastructure. The team dealing with cyberspace legal challenges was led by an expert from SIGNUM legal s.r.o. talented students and their professors from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Comenius University in Bratislava, the Armed Forces Academy of general Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and young Slovak talents studying at foreign universities also came to support the national team.

• ESET announces strategic integration with Elastic Security, enhancing cybersecurity analytics and visibility through advanced threat intelligence feeds.
• The integration offers deduplicated, highly curated feeds based on proprietary ESET research and telemetry.
• Elastic users will benefit from enhanced geographical visibility, reduced false positives, prevention of IoCs, and contextual investigations.

BRATISLAVA – May 3, 2024 — ESET, a global digital security company, has announced another strategic partnership and integration, thanks to its unified API gateway. This development facilitates seamless connections with various cybersecurity vendors, such as the recent integration with Elastic, a leading search AI company. This move is part of ESET’s broader strategy to support multi-vendor integrations aimed at strengthening overall cybersecurity defenses. By working with Elastic, ESET aims to provide organizations with enhanced analytics tools and greater visibility to enable more effective preventive measures against cyber threats.

Through this strategic partnership, Elastic’s users gain access to ESET’s advanced threat intelligence feeds, offering real-time data on indicators of compromise (IoCs), such as botnets, malicious domains, files, URLs, and IPs. These feeds also provide deep insights into the operations of notorious APT groups, sourced from ESET’s extensive malware and threat research. This integration enriches Elastic’s SIEM product, enabling security operators to leverage globally sourced threat data for unprecedented geographical visibility, dramatically reduced false positives – allowing for more accurate threat detection and analysis – and contextualized threat investigation.

The collaboration brings to the table ESET’s deduplicated and highly curated feeds, ensuring maximum effectiveness. Unique insights are drawn from proprietary ESET research and telemetry, not reliant on third-party sources. For optimal integration and interoperability, these feeds are delivered in the widely recognized TAXII/STIX 2.1 format.

ESET’s technological framework continuously scans for threats across various layers, from pre-boot to the resting state, providing global telemetry on emerging threats. This automation, supported by ESET’s leading cybersecurity team and 13 R&D centers worldwide, accelerates threat investigation and response. While machine learning aids in automating decisions, it’s ESET’s human expertise that underpins the evaluation and interpretation of threats, ensuring unparalleled accuracy and reliability.

“Our collaboration with Elastic not only marks a milestone in threat intelligence integration, but also represents a shared commitment to securing the digital landscape,” remarked Trent Matchett, ESET Director of Global Strategic Accounts. “By combining our unique insights and unparalleled expertise with Elastic’s analytical prowess, we’re setting a new standard in cybersecurity, empowering organizations to improve their security posture and make crucial decisions faster.”

For more information on how the ESET and Elastic integration is redefining cybersecurity threat intelligence, and to learn more about the benefits it brings to organizations, please read here.