Update on Spectre and Meltdown

29.03.2018

After the loud outcry surrounding Spectre and Meltdown, the security vulnerabilities in processors went quiet a short time later. Now Intel’s CEO Brian Krzanich has recently published an article on the Intel website in which he again addresses Spectre and Meltdown and explains how Intel intends to mitigate the extent of these vulnerabilities and what has already been done to do so.

Intel points out that microcode updates are now available for all processors released in the last five years.
Intel has also worked very closely with antivirus software providers to ensure compatibility.

Intel also announced on its website that the hardware design of new processors has been changed to protect them against the second variant of Spectre and Meltdown - there is currently no solution for Spectre variant 1. According to Intel, these innovations create obstacles for potential attackers through additional protective walls - on the one hand between running applications and on the other between processes with different access rights.

According to Brian Krzanich, the first processors that will have this new hardware protection - Intel is talking about eighth-generation Core i processors, among others - will probably be released in the second half of 2018. It is still unclear exactly which processor series is meant, as the "Ice Lake" processors were intended to be the ninth Core i generation. It is possible that there will be an "intermediate generation" codenamed "Whiskey Lake".

To the previous Spectre and Meltdown article