Qualcomm Takes Aim at Malware With Detection App for Mobile Device Processors

Qualcomm Technologies announced Qualcomm Snapdragon Smart Protect, an app designed to provide real-time, on-device machine learning to detect zero-day malware threats on mobile devices. It will debut on the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. Smart Protect also will be the launch vehicle for Qualcomm’s Zeroth technology that works with conventional anti-malware solutions on real-time malware detection, classification and cause analysis using a cognitive computing behavioral engine, the company said Monday. Smart Protect analyzes and identifies new threats before signature updates, Qualcomm said. OEMs and mobile anti-malware app providers can also use Smart Protect’s application programming interface for analysis to receive real-time information on identified threats, it said. With consumers storing an increasing amount of personal information on their devices, data leakage incidents and malware are on the rise, said Asaf Ashkenazi, Qualcomm Technologies director-product management. Qualcomm is able to address the security issues because of its ability to “access lower layers of the software stack and dedicated security hardware to create a device-based, behavioral analysis approach for mobile security," Ashkenazi said. The technology supports "deep on-device monitoring for nearly instantaneous notifications of detected privacy violations and malicious activity,” he said. Qualcomm is working with OEMs and mobile security providers Avast, AVG and Lookout to make Snapdragon Smart Protect capabilities available within commercial anti-malware apps, the company said. Smart Protector can enable operators to reduce incidents of fraudulent charges and network congestion associated with malware-infected devices, while consumers benefit from better protection of personal data, the company said. The technology has minimal impact on battery life, it said.