uncle,
RE: Pentium III flaw....
I lifted this from the INTC thread for you
>>
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) said
Wednesday an alleged flaw in its new Pentium's serial number system
designed to keep personal computers secure from interference by
''hackers''
was related to the chip's software, not any physical problem with the
chip.
Intel said it is still in talks with the German magazine, Computer
Technology, which Tuesday
alleged a flaw in the software Intel provided for turning off the serial
number, to determine
what, if anything is wrong with its system.
Intel provided an ''on-off'' system in response to privacy concerns over
the issuance of serial
numbers which could be used to track users in cyberspace. The German
magazine said it
found a way to thwart that Pentium software and void the ''on-off''
switch without a user's
knowledge.
''What is at issue here is not a chip flaw. There is no flaw in the Pentium
III processor with
respect to the processor serial number,'' said Intel spokesman Tom
Waldrop. ''What is being
discussed with the German magazine is a possible software hack.''
Intel has maintained that its new serial numbers are ''an important
step'' toward combating
malicious hackers. At a developer's conference in Palm Springs, Calif.
this week to launch
the new Pentium III chips, Intel underscored the importance of creating
a secure environment
for Internet commerce, which it said will grow into a $1 trillion business
over the next few
years.
The serial numbers, Waldrop said, will make personal computers ''less
hackable'' and
''more secure and private.''
''All software ultimately is hackable and today's Internet security is
essentially all software
and it is all hackable,'' said Waldrop. ''What we are doing today is
introducing into the
equation is a processor serial number that brings more of a hardware
element, that's more
resilient and less hackable and has more reliability.''
Waldrop said that if the software that controls the serial numbers is
found to be defective,
Intel will work on a ''patch'' or other software fix.
But he said there have been no allegations of a defect in the chip itself.
Five years ago, when
the original Pentium chip was released, a flaw in the way the chip
handled certain math
equations led to a recall that cost Intel hundreds of millions of dollars,
but the chip went on
to become one of the most successful products in the history of the
high-tech industry.<< |
