tech firms battle to resolve major security flaw
Sunday 13 July 2025
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

The Race Is On To Limit The Damage

Tech firms battle to resolve major security flaw

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleTech firms battle to resolve major security flaw

Amazon, Google and now Apple... as the list of digital giants
Paris - Muslimchronicle
Amazon, Google and now Apple... as the list of digital giants hit by the "Spectre" and "Meltdown" computer security flaws grows longer, the race is on to limit the damage.

"All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected, but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time," Apple -- whose devices are usually regarded as secure -- said in a post on an online support page on Thursday.

Amost all microprocessors produced over the past 10 years by Intel, AMD and ARM are affected. No PC or mobile device can function without the miniature components that are effectively nerve centres for executing computer programmes and apps.

And that is what distinguishes them from previous security alerts that have tended to involve software rather than hardware.

In theory, Spectre and Meltdown could enable a user to "access kernel level memory access, exposing critical information that would be stored there, like system passwords," said Chris Morales, head of security analytics at Vectra.

Luke Wagner, a software engineer at Mozilla, wrote on a security blog that it was "possible to use similar techniques from web content to read private information".

Effectively, all electronic devices manufactured all around the world in recent years contain potentially vulnerable chips.

The biggest names in the sector, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla, are now rushing out updates and patches to eliminate the flaw.

US giant Intel, as well as its rivals AMD and ARM, have started installing updates.

In a statement on Thurday, Intel said it and its partners "have made significant progress in deploying updates" to mitigate any threats.

"Intel expects to have issued updates for more than 90 percent of processor products introduced within the past five years," an Intel statement said.

"In addition, many operating system vendors, public cloud service providers, device manufacturers and others have indicated that they have already updated their products and services."

Apple, for its part, advised only getting apps from its online App Store which vets programmes for safety, and said it has already released some "mitigations" to protect against the exploit and planned to release a defensive update for Safari on macOS and iOS in the coming days.

Difficult to exploit?

But some experts believe that the only real "fix" in some cases would be replacing the chip itself, which would be a huge issue for the computing industry.

That said, the experts concede that hacking the chips would require a very high level of technical expertise and the risks were therefore limited.

The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) said that it was "not aware of any active exploitation at this time."

In Germany, the BSI Federal Office for Information Security, similarly found no evidence of any "active exploitation" of the flaw, but still sector players to protect themselves "as quickly as possible."

In addition to the security flaw, Intel found itself in hot water Friday over the announcement that its chief executive had sold some of his shares in the company.

According to the specialist magazine Solutions Numeriques, Intel was aware of the existence of the security flaw in its chips at the end of November. But in the fourth quarter of last year, CEO Brian Krzanich sold nearly 900,000 shares, halving his stake in the company, according to Bloomberg.

A company spokesman told Bloomberg that the sale had nothing to do with the issue of the security flaw, insisting that Krzanich had exercised options according to a pre-set timetable agreed long before.

Intel shares lost nearly two percent to close at $44.43 on Thursday, after already dropping 3.4 percent the day before.

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

GMT 06:57 2018 Sunday ,21 January

A fake news article reports

GMT 08:43 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

Apple urged to study iPhone addiction

GMT 09:49 2017 Wednesday ,08 November

Rich and famous in the Paradise Papers

GMT 08:57 2017 Saturday ,04 November

as Apple's iPhone X hits stores

GMT 10:10 2017 Friday ,03 November

Apple delivers higher profit
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

tech firms battle to resolve major security flaw tech firms battle to resolve major security flaw

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 22:44 2017 Friday ,20 October

Valley lobbies to keep ‘Dreamers’

GMT 09:03 2017 Sunday ,29 October

Hazard keeps champions Chelsea

GMT 13:49 2017 Tuesday ,12 September

Macron visits hurricane-hit Caribbean

GMT 10:06 2017 Sunday ,12 November

Louvre Abu Dhabi draws cosmopolitan crowd

GMT 08:50 2017 Sunday ,17 December

3 Ways to Find the Best Interior Design Ideas

GMT 21:10 2017 Monday ,17 July

Kinda Aloush reveals reason behind her absence

GMT 09:13 2017 Friday ,13 October

Paris wants to phase out diesel cars by 2024

GMT 22:04 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Doctor underlines importance of health food

GMT 23:31 2017 Wednesday ,22 March

Sperm-for-cash Egyptian comedy shocks and delights

GMT 10:24 2017 Tuesday ,27 June

Saleh Gommaa happy for winning

GMT 11:56 2017 Thursday ,06 April

Pakistan captain Misbah to retire

GMT 17:28 2013 Saturday ,06 April

Egyptian satirist released on bail

GMT 00:59 2017 Monday ,20 February

Rousseff urges vote against impeachment

GMT 11:53 2018 Saturday ,20 January

Rocky start for Alzheimer's research

GMT 19:08 2017 Thursday ,23 February

Mourinho worried about distant Euro draw

GMT 18:59 2016 Tuesday ,27 December

One hundred new shops open
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle