Credit: Shutterstock photoShares of chipmaker Intel ( INTC ) sank Wednesday as computer makers raced to address a major security flaw in Intel processors, and rival chip company Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) rose in reaction to the news.
[ibd-display-video id=3061199 width=50 float=left autostart=true] Tech website the Register reported Tuesday that a "fundamental design flaw in Intel's processor chips" is forcing programmers to patch kernels in Microsoft ( MSFT ) Windows and open-source Linux operating systems.
The updates to Windows and Linux computers will impact the performance of Intel-based machines, resulting in a slowdown of 5% to 30% depending on the task and processor model, the Register said.
Apple 's ( AAPL ) 64-bit macOS operating system also will need an update, the report said.
AMD processors are not affected by the same type of central processing unit flaw, the Register said.
Intel issued a formal response late Wednesday to address "inaccurate media reports."
Intel took issue with the description of the security problem as a "bug" or "flaw" and that it is somehow unique to Intel.
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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," the company said. "Intel believes these exploits do not have the potential to corrupt, modify or delete data."
Intel is working with other technology companies, including AMD, ARM Holdings and several operating system vendors, to develop an industry-wide approach to resolve the issue.
"Intel has begun providing software and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits," it said. "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 shares fell 3.4% to close at 45.26 on the stock market today . AMD shares jumped 5.2% to 11.55.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
