Global cyberattacks surged by 30% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024, according to Check Point Research, with organisations facing an average of 1,636 attacks weekly. Ransomware incidents have also reached record levels, with estimated payments exceeding US$1 billion in 2023, as reported by Security Intelligence.
The Asia-Pacific region is no exception. A survey by Cohesity found that 76% of companies in Singapore encountered AI-based threats in the past year, underscoring the region’s interconnected economies and varying levels of regulatory enforcement. Cybercrimes are becoming increasingly sophisticated as threat actors leverage AI and other emerging technologies to enhance their operations.
Against this backdrop, PCs, as an essential part of vast, interconnected global networks, have become a critical point of attack for hackers. A successful breach can compromise an organisation’s most valuable and essential systems, including critical infrastructure, mission-critical applications, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information. This risk is compounded by the fact that endpoints — primarily PCs — are a common target for cyberattacks, enabling attackers to infiltrate applications and databases or move laterally within networks.
Despite these risks, PCs remain underprotected against cyberattacks, often relying on basic antivirus or antimalware tools that are insufficient against increasingly sophisticated threats. Many of these attacks employ advanced AI tools and machine learning algorithms, outpacing traditional defences.
However, a growing number of organisations are keenly aware of how endpoints represent a critical attack vector and have taken important steps to fortify their cybersecurity defences – whether through regular software updates and maintenance, or more rigorous employee training. Yet an essential aspect that does not seem to get the attention it deserves is the security of the endpoint device itself. IT leaders must recognise the role of the PC and its processors in the fight against increasingly malicious threat actors.
Cybersecurity at the core
While there are various ways organisations can improve the security of their users’ PCs, many of these methods are costly – not just in terms of capital expenditures but also in the need for additional personnel to manage tasks such as monitoring, training, and education.
However, one key source of enhanced security lies within the PC itself. Significant technical advancements have been integrated directly into PCs, particularly at the CPU level. Beyond enabling compute performance and energy management, the processor now serves as a chip-level security operations centre, where threats can be detected, locked down, and mitigated.
PCs today not only include tools such as antivirus software and data backup software integrated at the factory but also incorporate components that help improve the PC’s cybersecurity defences. For instance, many PCs have been engineered with CPUs, GPUs, accelerators, and storage devices that include additional security features — such as secure boot, biometric authentication, encryption, and support for key operating systems — that further improve privacy and defence against cyberattacks.
A hardware-centric security approach mitigates cyber risks by locking down private and sensitive data on several levels, including firmware, silicon, and operating systems. Certain processors have even been designed to act as a hardware “root of trust” from the moment the PC leaves the factory, delivering system-level integrity through firmware authentication upon start-up.
Partnership as the foundation of cybersecurity
The growing importance of components in an enterprise’s cybersecurity maturity has also increased the focus on PC and component manufacturers. Many companies are prioritising security by integrating built-in features and capabilities into processors and accelerators to strengthen PC security. Adopting layered approaches and fostering industry-wide collaborations — where hardware and software work together to protect data at multiple levels — helps make systems more resilient against cyberthreats, from the endpoint and the edge to the cloud.
This collaborative spirit extends beyond hardware and software integration to the partnerships between technology providers and the organisations they serve. Echoing the call for international cooperation at SICW 2024, where Minister Teo emphasised the borderless nature of cyberspace and the need for international collaboration, today’s evolving technological landscape requires a partnership approach. In an increasingly hostile environment, technology providers must work closely with businesses to go beyond providing innovative hardware, taking time to understand the specific needs and challenges organisations face to develop solutions tailored to their unique contexts.
For IT teams and security professionals, the reality is that combating cyberattacks is becoming more complex and carries potentially greater negative impact than ever. It’s important to recognise that PCs often serve as the first point of attack for hackers, especially in an era of widespread remote work. Users’ PCs may lack adequate security tools or fail to adhere to best practices for safeguarding applications, data, devices, and user identities.
However, there is a silver lining. Advances in PC technology, combined with efforts by technology partners, have led to systems that are better prepared against cyberthreats. For IT leaders, choosing technology partners carefully is more critical than ever. In the long run, partners that embed security features at the core of their offerings will serve enterprises more effectively than those that offer a better price.
