Spectre

The mention of Spectre and Meltdown is enough to send chills down any InfoSec spine. A number of these batches of security vulnerabilities deal with speculative execution, and how a processor might leak data while executing code in a speculative manner. This week AMD has pre-empted the security space by detailing a potential security concerns regarding its new Zen 3-based Predictive Store Forwarding feature designed to improve code performance by predicting dependencies between loads and stores. AMD is clear to point out that most users will not need to take any action, as the risk for general consumer use to any breach is low, and no known code is vulnerable.

Load Value Injection: A New Intel Attack Bypasses SGX with Significant Performance Mitigation Concerns

Microarchitectural attacks have been all the rage. For the past two years, we’ve seen attacks like Meltdown, Spectre, Foreshadow/L1TF, Zombieload, and variants all discuss different ways to probe or...

43 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 3/11/2020

CES 2020: HP’s Spectre x360 15 Gets Comet Lake, Goes on Diet, Gains 17 Hrs Battery Life

Notebook makers put a lot of efforts into making their 13.3 and 14-inch notebooks as sleek and light as possible, which is why road warriors can enjoy more compact...

14 by Anton Shilov on 1/16/2020

HP’s 2019 Spectre 13 X360 Launched: Ice Lake, OLED, 22 Hours

HP has introduced a new version of its 13-inch Spectre x360 convertible laptop. The Project Athena-class hybrid notebook is smaller than its predecessor yet features higher performance, improved responsiveness...

12 by Anton Shilov on 10/3/2019

The HP Spectre Folio Review: Luxurious Leather Laptop

When HP announced the new Spectre Folio last October, it caused a stir. HP has been steadily providing some of the most stylish and exciting laptops on the market...

30 by Brett Howse on 6/7/2019

HP at CES 2019: HP Spectre x360 15 Gets AMOLED Display

HP plans to release a revamped version of its current-generation Spectre x360 15 convertible laptop with a 15.6-inch AMOLED display this year, the company has revealed ahead of CES...

9 by Anton Shilov on 1/6/2019

Analyzing Core i9-9900K Performance with Spectre and Meltdown Hardware Mitigations

One of the key aspects of the most recent Intel processor launch, its Core 9th Generation processors, is that the new design affords some hardware-based protection for a couple...

35 by Ian Cutress on 12/3/2018

HP Launches Ultra-Thin HP Spectre 13 x360: Quad-Core i7, Gigabit LTE, 22.5 Hr Battery Life

Originally launched as stylish high-performance ultra-portables, HP’s Spectre-series laptops have quickly gained popularity among multiple user segments. As a result of this, HP’s Spectre laptops and convertibles also began...

17 by Anton Shilov on 10/24/2018

Intel’s New Core and Xeon W-3175X Processors: Spectre and Meltdown Security Update

Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities made quite a splash earlier this year forcing makers of hardware and software to release updates in order to tackle them. There are several ways...

11 by Anton Shilov on 10/8/2018

Intel's Customized SoC for HP: Amber Lake-Y with On-Package LTE Modem

Announced earlier this week, HP’s Spectre Folio convertible notebook already looks remarkable due to its leather exterior. As it appears, the system is as impressive inside as it is...

13 by Anton Shilov on 10/4/2018

Spectre and Meltdown in Hardware: Intel Clarifies Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake

With the launch of Intel’s latest 8th Generation Core mobile processors, the 15W Whiskey Lake U-series and the 5W Amber Lake Y-series, questions were left on the table as...

107 by Ian Cutress on 8/30/2018

Intel at Hot Chips 2018: Showing the Ankle of Cascade Lake

The final presentation of the Hot Chips event this week is from Intel, with a talk on its next generation Xeon Scalable platform, Cascade Lake. We recently learned about...

31 by Ian Cutress on 8/19/2018

An Interview with Lisa Spelman, VP of Intel’s DCG: Discussing Cooper Lake and Smeltdown

As part of Intel's Datacenter summit, we were given an opportunity to sit down with Lisa Spelman, VP of Intel’s Data Center Group and General Manager of Xeon Products...

41 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 8/15/2018

Spectre Watch: More Spectre-class CPU Vulnerabilities to be Announced Soon?

This morning has seen an interesting turn of events in the world of processor security. c't magazine has published an exclusive report stating that they got wind of a...

78 by Ryan Smith on 5/3/2018

A Timely Discovery: Examining Our AMD 2nd Gen Ryzen Results

Last week, we published our AMD 2nd Gen Ryzen Deep Dive, covering our testing and analysis of the latest generation of processors to come out from AMD. Due to...

242 by Ian Cutress & Ryan Smith on 4/25/2018

Intel Wraps Up Spectre Patching, Partially Cancels Plans For 1st Gen Core & Core 2 Processors

Intel this week has published an update to their ongoing microcode guidance document. In the roughly 3 weeks since the last update, the company is offering some unexpectedly mixed...

27 by Ryan Smith on 4/4/2018

Meltdown & Spectre: Analyzing Performance Impacts on Intel's NUC7i7BNH

One of the consequences of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, besides the immediate security concerns, is what it has meant for our ongoing testing and benchmarking operations. Along with...

84 by Ganesh T S on 3/23/2018

Intel Publishes Spectre & Meltdown Hardware Plans: Fixed Gear Later This Year

Since the public revelation of the Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities early this year, Intel has spent virtually the entire time in a reactionary mode, starting from the moment...

31 by Ryan Smith on 3/15/2018

Intel CEO Addresses the Industry on Meltdown and Spectre Issues in Open Letter

Brian Krzanich on Thursday published an open letter addressing its partners and customers regarding the aftermath of the Meltdown and Spectre exploits publication. Chief executive of Intel reiterated the...

65 by Anton Shilov on 1/11/2018

NVIDIA Releases 390.65 WHQL Game Ready Driver, Includes Mitigation Updates for Spectre

In the wake of Meltdown and Spectre essentially every major industry player has issued a security statement, and NVIDIA is no exception, especially as a hardware vendor. Their initial...

10 by Nate Oh on 1/9/2018

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