ZombieLoad: A new security vulnerability has been found in Intel processors

A new, serious security gap was identified and concerns processors Intel built from 2011 onwards.

ΤThe security vulnerability was named ZombieLoad by computer security experts due to the inability of processors to manage specific data. As a result, this "zombie" data packet creates a security hole in Intel hardware so that if a computer is infected, the attacker can detect every user browsing the Internet.

This is because uncontrolled data includes sensitive information stored in the processor such as passwords, secret keys, private messages, etc. According to the data so far, ZombieLoad is a security gap similar to Meltdown and Specter identified in early 2018. Experts consider that it can infect the most widely used operating systems today, such as Windows, Android, Chrome, iOS, Linux and MacOS.

Fixed computers, laptops and virtual systems are vulnerable to ZombieLoad vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities appear to be Intel Atom and Knight, Intel Xeon, Intel Broadwell, Haswell, Sandy Bridge and Skylake, as well as Coffee Lake, Whiskey Lake, Kaby Lake and Cascade Lake.

ZombieLoad Vulnerability is addressed by properly updating a computer software, something that all users should do as the vulnerability exposure leaves no real marks. That is, a computer may be infected and the user may not notice the slightest thing.

Microsoft has already released a patch for all systems running Windows. On the same path is Apple, which released (on Monday) a patch for the macOS Mojave 10.14.5 operating system. Google, for its part, has upgraded software for Android and Chrome, while similar moves were made to the company's data centers.

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