Huge numbers of microprocessors made by Intel are vulnerable to being hacked, it has been alleged.
The Register, a highly respected and world famous British tech website, claimed the defect affects the ‘kernel memory’ on Intel processor chips manufactured over the past decade.
This problem could allow crooks and snoopers to crack into protected areas on the chips to expose passwords or carrying out hacks which affect individual computers or even entire server networks.
The Register said programmers were working to overhaul the affected memory areas, while Microsoft expected to issue a Windows patch next Tuesday after circulating test fixes towards the end of last year.
However, it’s feared that fixing the issue could cause computers to slow down.
‘Crucially, these updates to both Linux and Windows will incur a performance hit on Intel products,’ The Register wrote
‘The effects are being benchmarked, however we are looking at a ballpark figure of a five to 30 percent slowdown, depending on the task and the processor model.’
Microsoft Azure is due to undergo a maintenance reboot on Jan. 10 while Amazon Web Services has also advised customers via email to expect a major security update this Friday.
The Register also said that similar operating systems, such as Apple’s 64-bit macOS operating system, would need to be updated.
More: UK
A spokesman for the National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ, wrote: ‘We are aware of reports about a potential flaw affecting some computer processors.
‘At this stage there is no evidence of any malicious exploitation and patches are being produced for the major platforms.
‘The NCSC advises that all organisations and home users continue to protect their systems from threats by installing patches as soon as they become available.’
Huge numbers of microprocessors made by Intel are vulnerable to being hacked, it has been alleged.
The Register, a highly respected and world famous British tech website, claimed the defect affects the ‘kernel memory’ on Intel processor chips manufactured over the past decade.
This problem could allow crooks and snoopers to crack into protected areas on the chips to expose passwords or carrying out hacks which affect individual computers or even entire server networks.
The Register said programmers were working to overhaul the affected memory areas, while Microsoft expected to issue a Windows patch next Tuesday after circulating test fixes towards the end of last year.
However, it’s feared that fixing the issue could cause computers to slow down.
‘Crucially, these updates to both Linux and Windows will incur a performance hit on Intel products,’ The Register wrote
‘The effects are being benchmarked, however we are looking at a ballpark figure of a five to 30 percent slowdown, depending on the task and the processor model.’
Microsoft Azure is due to undergo a maintenance reboot on Jan. 10 while Amazon Web Services has also advised customers via email to expect a major security update this Friday.
The Register also said that similar operating systems, such as Apple’s 64-bit macOS operating system, would need to be updated.
More: UK
A spokesman for the National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ, wrote: ‘We are aware of reports about a potential flaw affecting some computer processors.
‘At this stage there is no evidence of any malicious exploitation and patches are being produced for the major platforms.
‘The NCSC advises that all organisations and home users continue to protect their systems from threats by installing patches as soon as they become available.’
