Trend Micro Announces “World’s First” Security Solution for Consumers with AI PCs » Dallas Innovates

Trend Micro COO Kevin Simser (left) and Carla Rodriguez, vice president and general manager of Client Software Ecosystem Enablement at Intel [Photos: LinkedIn]

Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are releasing AI-powered or AI-enabled personal computers, ushering in everyday consumer use of AI. But as the world continues to embrace AI with both excitement and concern, security questions also arise.

Trend Micro, a Japanese global cybersecurity company headquartered in Irving, USA, today announced that it is addressing these issues with “the first consumer security solution tailored to protect against emerging threats in the AI ​​PC era.”

Expanding ecosystem that includes Intel

Trend Micro this week “expanded its ecosystem” by acquiring Intel, a leading provider of neural processing units (NPUs) for AI PCs – processors designed specifically to run machine learning algorithms.

Carla Rodriguezvice president and general manager of Client Software Ecosystem Enablement at Intel, said the company is partnering with Trend Micro on AI solutions leveraging the next-generation Intel Core Ultra processors, code-named Lunar Lake.

“Specifically, Trend Micro will be the first to leverage Luna Lake’s 48 NPU tops for its email defense capabilities, performing scanning locally and reducing latency while improving user privacy and security,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Intel enables a broad and open ecosystem, bringing unmatched scale and channels to AI ISVs like Trend Micro. We look forward to bringing Intel solutions to those looking to deploy AI-enabled PCs rooted in security.”

AI PC allows you to run AI apps on your device

PCs equipped with neural processing units allow consumers to run AI apps on-device instead of in the cloud, which offers a range of benefits from privacy to performance, Trend Micro noted. But as PC makers race to bring new AI PCs to market, consumers face risks as well as opportunities.

“We’re not just leveraging AI for security, we’re also securing the AI ​​itself,” Trend Micro COO Kevin Simser said in a statement. “The value of the AI ​​era will ultimately depend on how secure that AI is, from the enterprise level all the way down to the individual consumer. Trend Micro is working to do both, while many in the industry are yet to do either.”

Simzer’s company is addressing these risks through new features it’s showcasing this week at Computex 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. According to Trend Micro, these new features include AI application protection and NPU-powered email security, which provide the following benefits:

• AI Application Protection: “Traditional cybersecurity solutions for PCs are insufficient to protect consumer AI applications from malicious activity. Techniques such as model tampering and knowledge base poisoning can lead AI applications to risk losing the confidentiality of users’ personal information or becoming victims of misinformation. Trend’s AI Application Protection feature is designed to address this risk and is expected to be released for device security products in 2024.”
• Email Security with NPU: “Previously, due to computing power requirements, email content had to be sent to the cloud for analysis. Trends can now run email fraud protection locally on the AI ​​PC, improving the user experience and removing data privacy friction from the process. Trends expects a 100% increase in use of this functionality on its AI PC and will have it available as part of its device security solution in 2024.”

Trend Micro said it plans to make these advanced features available to consumers “in the second half of 2024.”

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