Acronis partners with Intel to improve security offerings

As per the information detailed in the press release, the Intel TDT integration helps strengthen Acronis’ security by leveraging the Intel-integrated GPU (graphics processing unit) to offload memory scanning operations from the CPU (central processing unit).

Collaboration details and what it means for cybersecurity

Following the constant evolution and growth of cyber threats, Acronis researchers have identified new types of malware and attack vectors on enterprises of the likes of polymorphic malware and file-less attacks, and a multitude of threats utilise an in-memory-only approach, which can be difficult to detect. 

The Intel TDT technology enables Acronis’ cyber protection solution to free resources while scanning HDD and memory, which results in improved system performance. Based on the information highlighted in the announcement, Acronis researchers observed that when scanning all the processes in system memory on supported CPUs, Intel TDT helped reduce the load on the CPU 2.4x times by offloading the task to the Intel-integrated GPU.

What is more, the Acronis solution combines complete single-agent cyber protection with Intel TDT. The enhancement brings forth decreased CPU utilisation, which enables increased computer capacity for productivity and office software leveraged by Acronis’ end customers, while compute-intensive security operations run in Intel’s integrated GPU. As per the press release information, the Intel TDT service is set to be available through the Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, Acronis Cyber Protect, and Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office solutions.

Commenting on the announcement, Patrick Pulvermueller, CEO at Acronis advised that the integration of Intel TDT into Acronis’ cyber protection solutions comes as a ‘logical step’ in meeting the needs of their users. As per their statement, throughout 2022, the company noticed that approximately 50% of all attacks that were detected were file-less, and the use of Intel’s technology marks a company milestone as it aims to continue optimising and improving its anti-malware engine.

Adding on this, Carla Rodríguez, Vice President and General Manager, Ecosystem Partner Enabling at Intel advised that following the Acronis collaboration towards integrating the Intel Threat Detection Technology into their cyber protection solutions, customers of all sizes that leverage Intel vPro are enabled to perform frequent and highly performant memory scanning. This is believed to be a ‘great benefit’ for the companies’ mutual customers as they assist them in staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats.

What is more, as the IT world becomes increasingly sophisticated and continues its migration to the cloud, security teams with less-integrated technology are faced with more stress, as complexity and unintentional blind sports are created within security systems, advised Research Vice President of Security and Trust Michael Suby at IDC.

As per an IDC survey of 1,1015 North America-based security professionals, this is the case for smaller organisations that are less equipped to operate separate products from multiple vendors effectively or have a strong position for negotiating with multiple vendors. Due to this, they are believed to be more likely to resonate with an integrated hardware and software approach to endpoint security.