![]() ![]() Cloud services, which often share machines amongst several customers, are especially vulnerable. Or a malicious program on your computer-maybe one running in a browser window from that sketchy site you’re visiting, or as a result of a phishing attack-can steal data elsewhere on your machine. This means that a malicious app on your phone could steal data from your other apps. An attacker who controls one process on a system can use the vulnerabilities to steal secrets elsewhere on the computer. They’ve been named Spectre and Meltdown, and they have to do with manipulating different ways processors optimize performance by rearranging the order of instructions or performing different instructions in parallel. ![]() On Wednesday, researchers just announced a series of major security vulnerabilities in the microprocessors at the heart of the world’s computers for the past 15-20 years. The security of pretty much every computer on the planet has just gotten a lot worse, and the only real solution-which of course is not a solution-is to throw them all away and buy new ones. If you want to take additional precaution, those who use a password manager can update their master password. We suggest writing that new master password down somewhere safe to start, until it’s committed to memory.Spectre and Meltdown Attacks against Microprocessors If you do have a password manager, it may be worthwhile to update the passwords on your most sensitive accounts with password changer or by using a password generator. Using reused or weak passwords is one of the easiest way to get hacked. Then let it generate new passwords for your accounts in one-click, ensuring passwords that are complex and unique for each account. If you don’t use a password manager, get one. Software updates keep your machines running quickly and securely. The importance of updating software was discussed in our article about improving security practices at work, and for good reason. This means always checking for new ones and updating your devices as soon as they are rolled out. It’s important to note that these software patches and updates will not all be released at once. What Should You Do Now? Update your software – right now and always. We will update this post when more information become available. The software patch expected to eliminate the Meltdown flaw will slow down computers by as much as 30 percent.Īs for Spectre? There is no fix, according to Google but Intel recently announced that a new software update will make its processors “immune” from Spectre vulnerabilities by next week. ![]() Since it is virtually impossible to replace every device’s processor with a new, unaffected processor, the fix will come via many software patches and updates. It’s important to note that there has yet to be any signs of actual hacking activity due to these flaws. The flaws allow hackers to steal the entire memory contents of computers, cell phones, and servers that run in cloud-computing networks. You can additionally read her Twitter thread below if you prefer.Įssentially, this breaks down to one issue (Meltdown) which affects all Intel microprocessors, and another issue (Spectre) which affects all processors on the market (this includes AMD and ARM). Nicole Perlroth, a New York Times cybersecurity writer, does a tremendous job of explaining the security flaws in this article. Two critical security flaws were found, named “Meltdown” and “Spectre” which affect virtually all processors on the market. ![]()
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