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Intel and other technology companies have been made aware
of new security research describing software analysis methods that,
when used for malicious purposes,
have the potential to improperly gather sensitive data from computing devices
that are operating as designed.
Intel believes
these exploits do not have the potential to corrupt, modify or delete data.
Recent reports that these exploits
are caused by a "bug" or a "flaw"
and are unique to Intel products are incorrect.
Based on the analysis to date,
many types of computing devices
-- with many different vendors' processors and operating systems --
are susceptible to these exploits.
Intel is committed to product and customer security
and is working closely with many other technology companies,
including AMD, ARM Holdings
and several operating system vendors,
to develop an industry-wide approach
to resolve this issue promptly and constructively.
Intel has begun providing software and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits.
Contrary to some reports,
any performance impacts are workload-dependent,
and,
for the average computer user,
should not be significant and will be mitigated over time.
Intel is committed to the industry best practice
of responsible disclosure of potential security issues,
which is why Intel and other vendors
had planned to disclose this issue next week
when more software and firmware updates will be available.
However, Intel is making this statement today
because of the current inaccurate media reports.
Check with your operating system vendor or system manufacturer
and apply any available updates as soon as they are available.
Following good security practices that protect against malware in general
will also help protect against possible exploitation until updates can be applied.
Intel believes its products are the most secure in the world
and that, with the support of its partners,
the current solutions to this issue provide the best possible security for its customers.
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