“Following clarification that what was initially reported as an Intel chip bug also affects AMD processors and ARM-based chips, Intel’s CEO has said that ‘phones and everything’ will be impacted,” Ben Lovejoy reports for 9to5Mac. “A security update by ARM suggests that a number of iPhones, iPads, iPods and Apple TVs may be affected.””
“An ARM Processor Security Update lists processors known to be susceptible. These include the Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9 and Cortex-A15,” Lovejoy reports. “While Apple designs its own A-series chips for iOS devices, these are based on ARM architecture. A number of A-series chips include at least some elements of the Cortex-A8, -A9 and -A15 processors, and so may also be susceptible.”
Lovejoy reports, “ARM says that the risk of exploitation is low. ‘It is important to note that this [attack] method is dependent on malware running locally which means it’s imperative for users to practice good security hygiene by keeping their software up-to-date and avoid suspicious links or downloads.'”
Read more and see the list of potentially-affected devices in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Of course, we’ll have to wait to see what Apple says about these issues and what they do, if anything, to mitigate them.
Intel et al. are going to try to sell us on a software bandaid instead of really fixing the problem properly. – MacDailyNews, January 4, 2018
UPDATE: 7:10pm ET: Apple: All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected by Meltdown and Spectre security flaws
SEE ALSO:
Intel’s CEO Brian Krzanich sold off the majority of his shares after finding out about the irreparable chip flaws – January 4, 2018
CERT: Only way to fix Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities is to replace CPU – January 4, 2018
Security flaws put nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel, AMD and ARM at risk – January 4, 2018
Apple has already partially implemented fix in macOS for ‘KPTI’ Intel CPU security flaw – January 3, 2018
Intel’s massive chip flaw could hit Mac where it hurts – January 3, 2018