Google discovers ‘serious’ flaws in Intel and other chips

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Security researchers at Google say they’ve discovered serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers.

Google’s Project Zero team said Wednesday that the flaw could allow bad actors to gather passwords and other sensitive data from a system’s memory.

The tech company disclosed the vulnerability not long after Intel said it’s working to patch it. Intel says the average computer user won’t experience significant slowdowns as it’s fixed.

Both Intel and Google said they were planning to disclose the issue next week when fixes will be available. Tech companies typically withhold details about security problems until fixes are available so that hackers wouldn’t have a roadmap to exploit the flaws. But in this case, Intel was forced to disclose the problem Wednesday after British technology site The Register reported it, causing Intel’s stock to fall.

Google says it also affects other processors and the devices and operating systems running them.

Although Intel cited rival AMD as among the companies it’s working with to address the problem, AMD said in a statement that it believes its chips are safe because they use different designs.

Intel’s stock fell 3.4 per cent on Wednesday to close at $45.26, while AMD gained 5.2 per cent to close at $11.55.