Dive Brief:
- Dell announced a new partnership with Cylance, a company that specializes in detecting and blocking attacks on endpoint computers.
- Security experts say the partnership shows how cybersecurity defenses are evolving and moving away from signature-based detection.
- Dell said it will incorporate Cylance's Protect product in its Data Protection Endpoint Security Suite next year.
Dive Insight:
Many antivirus programs rely on systems that require identification of a specific piece of malware or which can detect strange behavior and block malware, but often only after it has already infected a machine.
"Our customers have been telling us the same thing: it is just not working," said Brett Hansen, Dell's executive director of data security solutions.
The Cylance suite includes encryption, authentication and malware detection. Instead of signatures, it uses an algorithm that “analyzes seven million characteristics of files and programs and scores those elements on the likelihood of them being malicious.” The program only occasionally needs updating.
Hansen said Dell looked at security products from more than 60 vendors before deciding on Cylance.
