Meltdown and Spectre, however, offer two ways for hackers to access that guess and exploit the information it contains.Īccording to the class action lawsuit filed against Apple, “The first hacking technique is known as ‘Meltdown’ because it ‘melts security boundaries which are normally enforced by the hardware,’ and the other hacking technique is known as ‘Spectre’ because its root cause is speculative execution, and ‘because it is not easy to fix, it will haunt us for quite some time.’” Normally, the guessed information is protected by the processor – not unlike how a person’s guess is “protected” by remaining inside their private thoughts. As the chip guesses, the information it’s “guessing” is momentarily easier to access. In non-affected systems, CPUs use a process called “speculative execution” in which the chip guesses what information the computer will need to perform its next function. As a result, the Meltdown and Spectre bugs affect hardware and software produced by a wide range of companies, including not only Apple and AMD, but ARM, Nvidia, Google, and even Microsoft. Intel’s technology underpins the majority of processors in use today. The bugs make it possible for hackers to access sensitive data that is ordinarily protected by the computer’s hardware. The class actions all focus on two major security flaws, dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre,” which affect nearly all Intel processors dating back to 1995. Intel, Apple, and AMD currently find themselves facing what may be the most far-reaching class action lawsuits of our time.
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