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Given the scale of some of the recent x86 exploits that went totally unnoticed by massive chipmakers like Intel (thinking mainly Spectre/Meltdown but this is pr
by voldacar 8y ago
Given the scale of some of the recent x86 exploits that went totally unnoticed by massive chipmakers like Intel (thinking mainly Spectre/Meltdown but this is pretty bad too), is it even possible to build a secure x86 processor?
Can anyone really say, given the insane pit of complexity that x86 has become?
- int_19h 8y agoThis one is more like a deliberate backdoor that was left not fully secured. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with x86-the-instruction-set. And stuff like Spectre and Meltdown is all about how they chose to implement it - specifically, optimizations. It is very possible to have an x86 CPU that doesn't try to be "smart" at all, and just implements the x86 spec in the most straightforward way possible... so long as you're willing to pay the perf penalty. It looks like we don't.