A security flaw has just been discovered in virtually all Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) processors made within the last decade that will require fixes within Windows, Linux and macOS. The developing team at Intel is currently scrambling to fix these huge security holes that have been found within its chips. The team has already put out fixes for some versions of Linux and are currently testing versions for Windows. However, these patches and fixes are expected to slow down computers.
The specific flaw has not been made known to the public just yet but the fixes point to issues that involve the ability to access secure parts of a computer’s memory by regular computer programs. It is now feared by owners that this flaw could be used to access private passwords, login details and sensitive protected information stored on these computer hard drives. Security experts and developers have come forward stating that the fixes involve the moving memory away from the core operating system. In doing that, it removes any chance of a normal program gaining access to the protected memory system.
As stated above, this fix is expected to slow the performance of the computers down to almost 30%. This would just not affect normal household computers but also cloud servers, such as those from Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). These all will have to be patched and could see the same performance-reducing issues.
With how quickly the patches have been implemented, it seems the company has known about this security issue for a while and kept quiet about it. Thousands of businesses across the country will have to update their computers and restart them to apply the fixes once they are rolled out.
At the time of reporting, Intel’s stock is currently down 3.39 % and selling at $45.26, a share. At the end of November, the company’s CEO Brian Krzanich sold close to $11 million in company stock. Did he know about the flaw and didn’t have much confidence in his companies rebound? An Intel spokesperson has declined this, stating the two are entirely “unrelated” and it was a pre-arranged stock sale plan. More details are set to emerge later this week, along with certain model fixes for the operating systems.
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