Suzy Greenberg
Vice president, Intel Product Assurance and Security
By Suzy Greenberg
Intel plays a key role in shaping the future of computing and communications technologies that are at the foundation of innovation. Worldwide, the cloud, connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI) and the intelligent edge are rapidly reshaping computing, and security is a key ingredient that is woven throughout.
COVID-19 has resulted in an incredibly distributed workforce and a massive increase in the amount of data that is shared. In fact, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reports receiving 3,000 to 4,000 cybersecurity complaints each day, a 300% jump since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The last year and a half has shown us all that it’s more important than ever to stay focused on security.
At Intel, we build security capabilities into all our foundational technology and look for ways to address privacy and security concerns facing our customers. A recent Ponemon Institute study1 determined 66% of IT decision-makers find it very important for their technology provider to have the capability to adapt to the changing threat landscape. Yet, 54% of respondents say their technology providers don’t offer this capability.
Our approach remains steadfast: to build defenses at the foundation, protect data and workloads, and improve software resilience. These investments in security extend beyond today’s products to cutting-edge research from Intel Labs to assess and solve for next-generation security challenges. As the landscape continues to evolve, it’s important to highlight those areas where a renewed focus on security is critical.
Intelligent edge
We learned from the pandemic that PCs remain essential in this remote world. Unfortunately, these endpoint systems are often the way bad actors access your critical data or embed malware in systems. The 11th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® mobile platform provides the world’s most comprehensive hardware-based security for business.2 According to a recent IOActive report, the most impactful platform differentiators for security are Intel® Control-Flow Enforcement Technology and Intel® Threat Detection Technology (Intel® TDT).
Intel TDT equips endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions with central processing unit heuristics for accelerated memory scanning, crypto mining and ransomware detection. This feature is available on Intel® Core™ platforms, extending the Intel® Hardware Shield suite of advanced security capabilities available with Intel® vPro™. Solutions from companies like BlackBerry, Cybereason, SentinelOne and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint improve the efficacy of EDR without compromising the user experience.
Beyond PCs, we continue to find new ways to solve common security challenges. Most recently, we joined the FIDO Alliance in announcing a new, open IoT protocol to simply and securely onboard any Internet of Things (IoT) device. It’s an important step in addressing the security gaps that currently exist in IoT deployments within enterprise and industrial environments.
The cloud
Intel drives innovation and collaboration with technology partners focused on improving the confidentiality and integrity of data. We continue to see growing use of our pioneering and proven Intel® Software Guard Extension (Intel® SGX), accelerating the adoption of confidential computing. Customers like Leidos, IntellectEU, Demetics, Consilient and UCSF have adopted Intel SGX and can trust their data has additional layers of protection.
We are also driving advancements in homomorphic encryption (HE), through Intel® Crypto Acceleration. Intel recently announced an agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a fully HE accelerator for Data Protection in Virtual Environments program, to early adoption of HE use cases by companies like Nasdaq.
Connectivity
Security is a key consideration for 5G networks, particularly when it comes to wireless core, wireless access, network edge workloads and security appliances. The 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon™ Scalable processors with Intel SGX are designed to enable secure channel setup and communication between the 5G control functions. Built-in crypto acceleration can reduce the performance impact of full data encryption and increase the performance of encryption-intensive workloads.
Security in 5G/6G networks is a key innovation focus within Intel Labs, and we are partnering with the National Science Foundation to accelerate research in more secure next-generation wireless systems.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) has unleashed a new era of creativity and ingenuity. Today, our technologies power some of the most promising and transformative AI models across the cloud, connectivity and intelligent edge. While data can enable powerful insights through AI, there are times when data must remain private and protected.
A powerful example supporting the advancement of AI is our work with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This close collaboration helps power a secure model for federated learning of international healthcare and research institutions to collaborate and improve identification of brain tumors without sharing data. Building an accurate algorithm to assist physicians in detecting tumors requires training against a large sample of scans, which should be protected for patient confidentiality.
Security is a system-level property and every component in the system — from software to silicon — must play its part to help secure data. We have an opportunity to bring innovative, world-changing technologies to life that are developed with security in mind. The trust we build based on this investment can provide customers the flexibility and assurance they need to lead with purpose. Intel has set a course for bold innovation rooted in security leadership. I hope you will join us on this journey to bring this vision to life.
More: Intel Security Technologies Infographic | Intel Provides New Tools to the Cybersecurity Task: The Results Could Be Game Changing, (Frank Dickson and Michael Suby, IDC) | | Intel vPro Platform | Intel SGX: Moving Beyond Encrypted Data to Encrypted Computing | Security News at Intel
Suzy Greenberg is a vice president with Intel Product Assurance and Security at Intel Corporation.