Issue

Several recently-published research articles have demonstrated a new class of attacks (Meltdown and Spectre) that work on most modern CPUs. The sky is not falling but this should be taken seriously and unfortunately will require an active response that may shift priorities.computer processors. At best, the vulnerability could be leveraged by malware and hackers to more easily exploit other security bugs.  At worst, the hole could be abused by programs and logged-in users to read the contents of the kernelyour computer's memory. It affects operating systems and can leverage web browsers to attack. 

Reduced performance on Intel-based Microsoft Windows, MacOS, or Linux servers may be experienced as the operating systems are patched to close the security hole.  One projections puts this at a performance reduction between 17% and 23%.

Recommendations

This is a deeply technical issue that mainly requires software and operating system providers to issue software updates to fix.

Recommendations

Are my systems affected?  Probably.

You should not panic, though. Continue to maintain good security practices, but specifical ensure your operating system, broswer, and antivirus software are up to date.  It may a shift in priorities if you do not have strong, automated patching processes.

• Patch your operating systems, browsers, and other software
  • Prioritize patching your browser(s)
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Windows patch may need to be manually enabled

• Understand your anti-virus product impact.  These software may cause problems with Windows updates - patch may not be available until anti-virus updates are available.

• Understand your cloud infrastructure (IaaS) impact.  Your provider may reboot your host(s) but you will still need to apply OS and software patches.

Note: Patches may impact performance, especially on servers and systems with already high load.  Reduced performance on Intel-based Microsoft Windows, MacOS, or Linux servers may be experienced as the operating systems are patched to close the security hole.  One projections puts this at a performance reduction between 17% and 23%.

Summary Articles and Useful Links

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