The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Apple Inc. said all Mac computers and iOS devices, like iPhones and iPads, are affected by chip security flaws, but the company stressed there are no known exploits impacting users.
The Cupertino, California-based company said recent software updates for iPads, iPhones, iPod touches, Mac desktops and laptops, and the Apple TV set-top-box mitigate one of the vulnerabilities known as Meltdown.
Despite concern that fixes may slow down devices, Apple said its steps to address the Meltdown issue haven’t dented performance. The company will release an update to its Safari web browser in coming days to defend against another form of the security flaw known as Spectre. These steps could slow the speed of the browser by less than
2.5 percent, Apple said.
The Apple Watch, which runs a derivative of the iPhone’s OS, is not affected by either Meltdown or Spectre, according to Apple.
Intel Corp. confirmed a report stating that its semiconductors contain a vulnerability based around a chip-processing technique called speculative execution. Intel said its chips, which power Macs and devices from other manufacturers, contain the flaw as well as processors based on ARM Holdings architecture.
In December, Apple came under fire for iPhone software changes that reduced the performance of some older models of its smartphone. Alongside an apology and an explanation that a software change was implemented to balance out the effect of aging batteries, Apple reduced the cost of replacing the power units from $79 to $29 through the end of 2018.