How faster computers gave us Meltdown and Spectre

These industry-breaking computer security exploits affect nearly every computer ever built.

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In the pursuit of faster computers, Intel and other computer processor manufacturers started implementing a design feature known as “speculative execution.” That enables a computer to make necessary calculations before the user needs them. The problem? That feature now has the potential to be exploited to reveal sensitive data. And to make matters worse, these flawed computer chips have been around since 1995…

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