Clickbait drives me crazy. So much of the press grabs a quote and makes a story out of it where there really isn’t any meat to it.
A recent example is a WIRED story with the headline:
Security News This Week: An Unfixable Flaw Threatens 5 Years of Intel Chips
Doesn’t that scare you? 5 YEARS OF INTEL CHIPS ARE THREATENED!
The problem is not only that it is impossible to fix firmware errors that are hard-coded in the Mask ROM of microprocessors and chipsets. The larger worry is that, because this vulnerability allows a compromise at the hardware level, it destroys the chain of trust for the platform as a whole.
OMG! The world is ending. The “chain of trust” is DESTROYED!
…a concerning flaw that’s unfixable
Finally (and ironically) The Register brings some sanity to this discussion.
Although exploitation is like shooting a lone fish in a tiny barrel 1,000 miles away
Whew! I think we’re safe.
Intel said that “an attack would require local access, specialized gear, and a high level of skill, making it relatively impractical in the real world.”
reddit posted a link to the WIRED article and one of the comments gave some really good advice.
Guess I’ll stop inviting Russians over for dinner.
Yeah, me too.
Originally published at https://blog.benmoore.info.
