Intel reveals chip design flaw that could have allowed hackers to access hidden info
0Intel reveals chip design flaw that could have allowed hackers to access hidden info.
SAN FRANCISCO — A design flaw disclosed Wednesday in Intel and some other computer chips could have allowed an attacker to view hidden information such as passwords meant to be securely stored on the chip.
Hardware and software manufacturers, including Apple and Microsoft, began pushing out patches Wednesday that protected against attacks making use of the flaw.
The flaw, which Intel dubbed a side-channel analysis attack, was discovered "months ago" Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said on CNBC Wednesday. The discovery was made by researchers at Google's Project Zero security group, which reported it to the affected companies.
The vulnerabilities undermine some of the most fundamental security constraints employed by modern computers, said Craig Young, a researcher at computer security company Tripwire.