Intel bug incoming? Meltdown and Spectre exploits

Andromeda1983 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:00

Thankfully post skylake CPU's have PCID enabled so it should lessen the performance impact

nixd2012 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:01

pete910 said:
Perf on the desktop for what I read yesterday was not the concern it was server but more importantly the actual security hole.

I'm still wanting to know why there is an embargo on it when this was known in October ? That with the fact Intel's own CEO dumping stock toward end of November does not help the issue

For AMD the patch does not apply, so not performance hit. For Intel, the patch applies to most processors, whether Windows, Linux or macOs. If you want to be secure from nasty stuff, the patch is wanted. Whether desktop or server. The amount of performance hit depends on what the machine is doing though. There are guesses this will have more impact on servers, but this is still a bit of guesswork at present it seems.

The embargo is to give a chance for the patches to be released before "bad guys" become aware of the weakness and can use it to attack most computers in the world. This is standard when security weaknesses are found - try and get a patch for the issue before telling the world about it. In this case, it seems that it's not a binary "no one knows" then "everyone knows" - awareness has gradually been building since last June it seems.

P4Clock · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:11

Lol I just seen this in my feeds I thought it was a load of pop....

So this is a real thing?

I am so sad I went ryzen when I did

, is this how intel managed to make a massive performance jump with sandybridge?

AndreiD · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:13

pete910 said:
Perf on the desktop for what I read yesterday was not the concern it was server but more importantly the actual security hole.

I'm still wanting to know why there is an embargo on it when this was known in October ? That with the fact Intel's own CEO dumping stock toward end of November does not help the issue

I'm not sure about October, and Intel's CEO can't just sell stock willy nilly, you can find all of his form 4 filing history here, the sales are made under a 10b5-1 plan to avoid insider trading. A lot of this info is public for a reason.

jigger · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:14

B12B6 said:
The people saying it doesent affect 99% people on here, what the hell are you talking about? Performance hit may noy affect 99% of Intel users, but security flaw affects 100% of us.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/02/intel_cpu_design_flaw/

Pretty much. The world runs on VM's

SiDeards73 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:18

Its hit mainstream media now, LOL @ Sky's "50% Penalty" nonsense... https://news.sky.com/story/computers-face-global-slowdown-due-to-flaw-in-intel-chips-11193992

LoadsaMoney · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:18

nixd2012 said:
The embargo is to give a chance for the patches to be released before "bad guys" become aware of the weakness and can use it to attack most computers in the world. This is standard when security weaknesses are found - try and get a patch for the issue before telling the world about it. In this case, it seems that it's not a binary "no one knows" then "everyone knows" - awareness has gradually been building since last June it seems.

Embargo lifts tomorrow doesn't it ?, if so, then the "bad guys" will have about 5 days to become aware of it, as Windows won't get the patch until Patch Tuesday, next week.

Andromeda1983 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:24

Oh dear, mainstream media gonna blow this completel..............oh thanks sky

Update: The independent has posted about it and Reuters, ****'s going viral

AndreiD · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:30

Ironically the 'media' blowing things out of proportion might do more damage to Intel than the actual security flaw

But I doubt anyone will cry a river over Intel losing some revenue or their stock tanking.

Andromeda1983 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:33

AMD has gained 6% and Intel has lost so far about 2.5% but this was before it hit mainstream media. I think your right about it being blown out of proportion will do more damage as it will hurt Intel's security reputation. Question is now, how long did Intel know about this flaw?

pete910 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:34

AndreiD said:
I'm not sure about October, and Intel's CEO can't just sell stock willy nilly, you can find all of his form 4 filing history here, the sales are made under a 10b5-1 plan to avoid insider trading. A lot of this info is public for a reason.

To be fair there is a blackhat event in 2016 that touched on part of this flaw, I'll dig to see if I can find it. was rather in depth iirc

Also here's intel's CEO stock dump I was referring to

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/12/19/intels-ceo-just-sold-a-lot-of-stock.aspx

jigger · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:35

LoadsaMoney said:
Embargo lifts tomorrow doesn't it ?, if so, then the "bad guys" will have about 5 days to become aware of it, as Windows won't get the patch until Patch Tuesday, next week.

It will probably be some time for the fix. Much b0rking of Windows do I see.

mattyfez · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:36

Andromeda1983 said:
AMD has gained 6% and Intel has lost so far about 2.5%

Intel now down 3.1%, AMD up 6.9% from this morning -

You can watch the fun here: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/intc/charts

Andromeda1983 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:38

I know I shouldn't take pleasure in Intel's suffering especially when I am a fan of their CPU's but I cannot help but feel its their own fault and it's well deserved

AndreiD · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:41

@pete910 but that's not dumping stock, 10b5-1 plans have predetermined dates when a predetermined number of shares are sold in order for insiders (like CEOs) of publicly traded companies to avoid insider trading related issues. That sale was going to happen regardless of any variation in Intel's stock value, most CEOs do 10b5-1s.
That fool.com article is pure fud and they should know better if they're a finance outlet.

Andromeda1983 · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:44

Hey matty, 3.7% now

Well its up and down really but it's average around 3.7%

jigger · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:48

SiDeards73 said:
Its hit mainstream media now, LOL @ Sky's "50% Penalty" nonsense... https://news.sky.com/story/computers-face-global-slowdown-due-to-flaw-in-intel-chips-11193992

TBF it could be a dramatic drop in performance depending on what's required from the fix. I'd think 50% is worse case but for older and lower end CPU's it could be 100% never working again.

jigger · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:49

Andromeda1983 said:
Hey matty, 3.7% now

Well its up and down really but it's average around 3.7%

That is a lot of money.

mattyfez · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:49

Andromeda1983 said:
Hey matty, 3.7% now

Well its up and down really but it's average around 3.7%

-3.8% now, it's falling faser than I can post :S

Armageus · 3 Jan 2018 at 16:50

SiDeards73 said:
Its hit mainstream media now, LOL @ Sky's "50% Penalty" nonsense... https://news.sky.com/story/computers-face-global-slowdown-due-to-flaw-in-intel-chips-11193992

Lol at the whole article