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.
Deep Dive
Computing
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
IBM wants to build a 100,000-qubit quantum computer
The company wants to make large-scale quantum computers a reality within just 10 years.
The inside story of New York City’s 34-year-old social network, ECHO
Stacy Horn set out to create something new and very New York. She didn’t expect it to last so long.
Delivering a quantum future
Innovations require engineering breakthroughs and focus on real computational problems.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.