Spector: Indian-origin researcher warns, hacking risk on crores of computers around the world

Spector is a weakness that affects modern microprocessors that perform branch prediction. Anticipated execution from a branch prediction on most processors can cause side effects and allow hackers to access private data. After the discovery of Spector, computer experts around the world are working on identifying and removing software and hardware flaws. Experts claim that such problems have now been overcome.

However, the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, led by researcher Ashish Venkat, has discovered that computer processors are in danger again and can be targeted by hackers. Venkat found that hackers can hack computers via micro op cache. Explain that it increases the speed of the computer. One of the biggest companies making computer processors, Intel’s processors are making micro op cache since 2011.

Research has found that hackers can steal computer data when the processor takes commands from the micro op cache. Venkat said that it is the same as if you are allowed to go inside an airport without checking the boarding pass, because the investigator is understanding that there will be a check at the gate. Computer processors also do something similar. The processor takes the command and cancels that command if its prediction later turns out to be incorrect.

This means that the computer was given a command and put that command in the pipeline. Now when the processor finds out that there is a problem with the command, it will cancel it or get it out of the pipeline. But, there can be a delay in this work and those commands can damage the computer and steal sensitive information in such a short time. According to Venkat, this threat is also on computers equipped with Intel as well as AMD processors.