McAfee Unveils Hardware-Assisted Security to Combat Sub-Operating System Threats

McAfee announced new security technology this week that leverages Intel hardware and could be used to fight rootkits.

Dubbed DeepSafe, the technology enables McAfee to develop hardware-assisted security products that take advantage of a “deeper security footprint,” according to the company. The technology sits below the operating system, which officials hope will allow McAfee to proactively block rootkits that bury themselves in the OS to avoid detection.

The technology – the latest child of Intel’s acquisition of McAfee in February – was demonstrated earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum during Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini’s keynote. According to McAfee, more than 1,200 new rootkits are detected each day.

“Intel and McAfee are working on joint technologies to better protect every segment across the compute continuum from PCs to devices,” said Renée James, senior vice president and general manager of the Software and Services Group at Intel and the Chairman of McAfee, in a statement. “By combining the features of existing Intel hardware and innovations in security software, Intel and McAfee are driving innovation in the security industry by providing a new way to protect computing devices. We are truly excited to introduce this technology upon which we will deliver new solutions.”

McAfee DeepSAFE:

• Builds the foundation for next-generation hardware-assisted security operating beyond the operating system 
• Provides a trusted view of system events below the operating system 
• Exposes many attacks that are undetectable today 
• New vantage point to block sophisticated stealth techniques and APTs 
• Provides real time CPU event monitoring with minimal performance impact 
• Combines the power of hardware and flexibility of software to deliver a new foundation for security

DeepSafe is slated to launch in products later this year.