Machine-learning powers Bitdefender’s intellectual property program

Bitdefender invests a quarter of its R&D budget in disruptive ideas. Artificial intelligence and machine-learning have become key drivers of innovation, boosting the number of patents.

​​Bitdefender, the innovative security software solutions provider, invests 25% of its yearly research and development budget in visionary security dreams. As a result, from a total of 72 patents, Bitdefender has had 42 patents issued for core technologies in past three years alone.  Another 35 are currently are under examination, with a 10th of all patents pertaining to machine-learning.
 
Bitdefender holds patents in all major areas of interest: machine learning and artificial intelligence, antispam/anti-phishing/antifraud, antimalware, virtualization, and hardware design, among others.

“There are two types of innovation – catch up, where you need to keep up with major market trends, and pioneering, which requires embracing higher risks,” Bitdefender’s CEO Florin Talpes says. “Bitdefender has successfully adhered to the latter.” 
 
This philosophy fuels Bitdefender and is driving an acceleration in patent submissions. Some 58 percent of our patents have been issued or submitted in the last 3 years alone. 
 
Bitdefender’s team of engineers and researchers reached the 600+ milestone this year.
 
Many of the patents below hold the secrets to Bitdefender’s most recent innovations – complex machine-learning algorithms able to identify modern threats (i.e. advanced persistent threats, zero-day attacks, ransomware), Bitdefender BOX, the breakthrough solution that protects all a user’s connected devices, and Hypervisor Introspection (HVI), a revolutionary framework to secure virtualized environments from advanced targeted cyber-attacks.
 
Bitdefender started integrating machine-learning technologies in its detection systems seven years ago, and recent patents have helped it achieve the highest detection rate for new malware released in the wild.
 
“Bitdefender’s culture of innovation built in the past 15 years started in 2002 with the IST Prize – considered the Nobel of Informatics – for MIDAS, the Malware Intrusion Detection Advanced System, a breakthrough technology that was considered at that time a revolution in the security industry,” Florin Talpeș comments. “Ever since then, patents and innovation have been strategic initiatives that are fundamental for our future growth.”

Full details in the white paper “From ideas to patents. How visionary security dreams become breakthrough technologies”

Source: Bitdefender Resource Centre