The Clock Is Ticking for Chip Flaw Fixes to Start Working

Cures for the pervasive Meltdown and Spectre chip flaws aren’t working, and hacks may soon be incoming.

Broken fixes: The Register reports that software patches for the flaws are causing some industrial hardware to become unstable. Intel has also warned that its fixes can cause some chips to reboot.

Hack threats: The longer we go without genuine fixes, the greater the chance that crooks will put the flaws to use. Some security researchers have already shown that they can weaponize the chip vulnerabilities. Hackers won't be far behind.

More to come? Even if we get the fixes we need, industry experts fear more Meltdown-like flaws. “There are probably other things out there like this that have been deemed safe for years," Simon Segars, CEO of chip firm ARM, told CNET.