Intel says impact of security fixes likely minimal

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Intel has sought to downplay concerns about the performance impact of security flaws in its microprocessors.

It said fixes would not slow down computers, as some have suggested.

Experts say Intel may be on the hook for costs stemming from lawsuits claiming that the patches would slow computers and effectively force consumers to buy new hardware.

They said big customers will also likely seek compensation from Intel for any software or hardware fixes they make.

But in a statement late Thursday, Intel said the performance impact of the recent security updates should not be significant and will be mitigated over time.

It added that Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft reported little to no performance impact from the updates.

Intel logo. /Reuters Photo

Intel shares fell nearly two percent on Thursday as investors were worried about potential financial liability and reputational damage to the company.

The largest chipmaker confirmed earlier this week that the security issues reported by researchers in the company’s widely used microprocessors could allow hackers to steal sensitive information from computers, phones and other devices.

Security researchers had disclosed two security flaws exposing the vulnerability of nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and ARM.

Intel said fixes for security issues in its microchips would not slow down computers. /Reuters Photo

The first, called Meltdown, affects Intel chips and lets hackers bypass the hardware barrier between applications run by users and the computer’s memory, potentially letting hackers read a computer’s memory and steal passwords. The second, called Spectre, affects chips from Intel, AMD and ARM and lets hackers potentially trick otherwise error-free applications into giving up secret information.

Intel had said the issues were not caused by a design flaw and asked users to download a patch and update their operating system.

Source(s): Reuters