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# Paul Thurrott says Intel Mislead (and continues to mislead) the Industry
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/paul-thurrott-says-intel-mislead-and-continues-to-mislead-the-industry/
- Published: 2018-01-04T17:48:05.000Z
- Updated: 2018-01-04T17:48:05.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler
- Tags: Links, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29

Paul Thurrott has [some choice words for Intel](https://www.thurrott.com/hardware/149507/intel-misled-industry-security-vulnerabilities?ref=birchtree.me) in how they have handled the recent [Spectre/Meltdown exploits](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/business/computer-flaws.html?ref=birchtree.me):

> But if I were to point the finger of blame at one company here, and I will, it would have to be Intel. The microprocessor giant has behaved in an irresponsible manner that is just hard to explain. 

and

> It’s unclear why Intel put quotes around the words “bug” and “flaw” since there are in fact two bugs—or flaws—in all of its microprocessors. Are they unique to Intel chips? No. But Intel is hit the hardest here, because it has the most affected microprocessors still in use in the market, in particular in server and cloud workloads. And there is no fix for one of the flaws. 

and

> Put simply, each of these statements is irresponsible. And Intel needs to be held accountable for this misinformation. 

A vulnerability at such a low level in the system is scary, and one hopes that these exploits (although very real) never result in much actual trouble in the real world. This is outside my technical wheelhouse so I won't weigh in too much, but the message I'm hearing from people who do know about this stuff are saying it's bad, bad, and bad again. Intel downplaying the issue is not a good look.