A major design flaw has been found in microprocessors produced by Intel and rivals AMD and ARM. Tech experts say it requires updates to operating systems, which are likely to slow down chip operations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Intel
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Technology firms sought to play down the security risks posed by a newly discovered vulnerability in computer chips amid concerns that hackers could gain access to sensitive data on various devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones as well as entire server networks.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich tried to downplay the threat posed by the security flawImage: Getty Images/J. Sullivan
"Phones, PCs, everything are going to have some impact, but it'll vary from product to product," Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said in an interview with CNBC.
British technology website The Register reported that the discovered flaw affected the kernel memory on Intel x86 processor chips made over the past decade.
It cited unnamed programmers who had claimed that the defect allowed users of normal applications to discern the layout or content of protected areas on the chips and thus gain acces to privately stored data such as passwords and personal information including credit card details.
Intel issued a statement in response, labeling the reports as a mere "bug" unique to its products. Shortly after the statement, however, reports surfaced saying that AMD and ARM brand chips were also affected by at least one such security flaw.
AMD stressed that it believed there "is near zero risk to AMD products at this time."
The Register further reported that programmers working on the Linux open-source operating system were already overhauling the affected memory areas, while Microsoft was expected to issue an update with a patch for Windows by next Tuesday.
Google report
Google, meanwhile, released findings from its own security researchers, saying they had found "serious security flaws" in devices powered by Intel, AMD and ARM chips and the operating systems running them.
Google's research team noted that, if exploited, "an unauthorized party may read sensitive information in the system's memory such as passwords, encryption keys, or sensitive information open in applications."
"As soon as we learned of this new class of attack, our security and product development teams mobilized to defend Google's systems and our users' data," Google said in a security blog.
Why it seems like everyone's being hacked
German and US leaders aren't the only ones worried about hacking. The past fortnight has seen several countries, companies and celebrities affected by data breaches. And the hackers have picked some unusual targets.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Marchi
CCTV surveillance cameras hacked in DC
Two people were arrested in Britain on Saturday after allegedly attempting to hack the Washington DC CCTV surveillance camera system just days before President Donald Trump's inauguration. US media said 123 out of almost 200 cameras throughout the city were disabled by ransomware software. Officials feared a bigger attack may have been planned for the day of Trump's swearing in.
Image: picture alliance/ZB/P. Pleul
Fears over Dutch election hack
The Netherlands said it will count ballots from its election on March 15 by hand after fears its vote counting software is vulnerable to hacking. Several Dutch ministries and even the prime minister's office have been targeted by Russian and other hackers. The rise of anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders (pictured) has piled pressure on mainstream parties in the upcoming vote.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Utrecht
Norway's state institutions targeted
Norway said Russian-based hackers have attempted to break into email accounts linked to the domestic intelligence agency. None of the accounts, used by the Foreign Ministry, the military, a university, the nuclear watchdog and the opposition Labour party, were used for classified information. A probe has begun into whether the group known as APT29 - also known as Cozy Bear - was responsible.
Image: picture alliance/Bildagentur-online
Anti-Trump song forced onto US radio stations
Several US radio stations in South Carolina, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky have been hacked by anti-Trump activists, the Verge reported. Instead of the stations' usual music format, an unstoppable audio loop of YG and Nipsey Hussle’s hip hop track "F**k Donald Trump" played out. It apparently took the stations several hours to fix the problem.
Image: Getty Images for adidas/J. Moore
Czech minister's emails intercepted
The Czech Republic's foreign minister has confirmed that his own email account - and those of colleagues in the Foreign Ministry - have been hacked. TheNeovlivni.cz news site reported "thousands of files" were retrieved, but the Foreign Ministry has denied classified information was obtained. Russia has not been blamed publicly, but, privately, officials are pointing the finger at the Kremlin.
Image: picture alliance/ZB/M. Tödt
Hotel targeted by ransomware hackers
An Austrian luxury hotel is to replace its electronic room cards with old fashioned keys after blackmail-hungry hackers gained access to its locking system. The Romantik Seehotel Jaegerwirt in the Austrian Alps says it's been repeatedly targeted. In one incident, the owners had to pay 1,500 euros to ransom software hackers to get the room cards working again.
David Beckham has blamed a hacked email account after British media alleged he sent a string of foul-mouthed private emails over his failure to be named Sir David by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. The Football Leaks website claims the soccer star was frustrated that he wasn't given a knighthood and dismissed a lesser award known as the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Image: picture alliance/empics/M. Rickett
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Devices will slow down
But while the security risk may soon be under control, the trouble wouldn't end there. "Crucially, the updates in question to both Linux and Windows will incur a performance hit on Intel products," The Register warned.
Intel meanwhile commented that these concerns were exaggerated. Regardless of its attempts at damage control, the news about the security risks hit Intel hard, with shares falling initially by 3.4 percent.
