Jamaica On Cyber Alert Following Discovery Of Serious Vulnerabilities In Microprocessors
Jamaica’s Technology Ministry has put the island on alert following the discovery of serious vulnerabilities in microprocessors.
Commons
The vulnerabilities are known as “Meltdown” and “Spectre” and they affect a wide range of modern processors.
Meltdown specifically targets processors made by Intel while Spectre can be used to attack nearly all processor types.
The scope of danger presented by these vulnerabilities includes allowing attackers to gain access to “secured” memory belonging to various processes.
With this access, hackers can gain access to banking information, usernames and passwords, personally identifiable information, and other sensitive data.
Technology Minister Dr. Andrew Wheatley is quoted by RJR as saying:
“What we have found is that the level of exposure or the level of vulnerability as a result of a defect in these microprocessors can lead to some serious exploitation beyond what we can imagine, especially as it relates to access to sensitive data, passwords, pictures and sensitive information in general”.
Patches are already being released by software giants but they will result in a noticeable drop in performance on some devices.
Check out this video on the vulnerabilities below:
Download The Jamaican Blogs™ App for your Android device: HERE
Remember to share this article on Facebook and other Social Media Platforms. To submit your own articles or to advertise with us please send us an EMAIL at: [email protected]