Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • Subscribe!
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings

AMD Says Patches On The Way For Flawed Chips

By PD&D Staff | March 21, 2018

Share

Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday said patches are on the way for recently revealed flaws in some of its chips that could allow hackers to take over computers.

AMD expressed confidence that chip vulnerabilities made public last week by Israeli-based security firm CTS Labs could be fixed with firmware patches and updated software that would not slow computers down.

The chip manufacturer downplayed the threat of hackers taking advantage of the flaws, saying it would require administrator-level access to computers.

“Any attacker gaining unauthorized administrative access would have a wide range of attacks at their disposal well beyond the exploits identified in this research,” AMD said in its first update on the situation since the flaws were made public.

CTS Labs published its research showing “multiple critical security vulnerabilities and exploitable manufacturer backdoors” in AMD chips.

The security firm itemized 13 flaws, saying they “have the potential to put organizations at significantly increased risk of cyberattacks.”

The report came weeks after Intel disclosed similar hardware-based flaws dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, sparking widespread computer security concerns and a congressional inquiry.

In a 20-page white paper, CTS researchers said the AMD Secure Processor, the gatekeeper responsible for the security of AMD processors, contains “critical vulnerabilities” that “could allow malicious actors to permanently install malicious code inside the Secure Processor itself.”

“The vulnerabilities we have discovered allow bad actors who infiltrated the network to persist in it, surviving computer reboots and reinstallations of the operating system,” the report said.

“This allows attackers to engage in persistent, virtually undetectable espionage, buried deep in the system.”

California-based AMD is one of the largest semiconductor firms specializing in processors for PCs and servers.

“AMD has rapidly completed its assessment and is in the process of developing and staging the deployment of mitigations,” the chipmaker said.

“We believe that each of the issues cited can be mitigated through firmware patches and a standard BIOS update, which we plan to release in the coming weeks.”


Filed Under: Industry regulations

 

Related Articles Read More >

ids-industrial-camera-manufacturer.sustainability-3
IDS focuses on sustainability in shipping
Part 5: Motion control + MQTT, OPC-UA, and other protocols for cloud services
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Calls for More Outside Regulation
Musk’s Boring Company Calls it Quits on LA Tunnel, Instead Focuses on Hyperloop

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Industrial disc pack couplings
  • Pushing performance: Adding functionality to terminal blocks
  • Get to Know Würth Industrial Division
  • Renishaw next-generation FORTiS™ enclosed linear encoders offer enhanced metrology and reliability for machine tools
  • WAGO’s smartDESIGNER Online Provides Seamless Progression for Projects
  • Epoxy Certified for UL 1203 Standard

Design World Podcasts

July 26, 2022
Tech Tuesdays: Sorbothane marks 40 years of shock and vibration innovation
See More >
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP AWARDS

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • Subscribe!
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings