Meltdown And Spectre info

I’m sure many have heard of the recent MASSIVE security holes found in computer processors.

The threat is real so you should take notice. Here is a good description  form Stu Sjourwerman of what it is and what to do.:

"Computer researchers have recently found out that the main chip in most modern computers—the CPU—has a hardware bug. It’s really a design flaw in the hardware that has been there for years. This is a big deal because it affects almost every computer on our network, including your workstation and all our servers.

This hardware bug allows malicious programs to steal data that is being processed in your computer memory. Normally, applications are not able to do that because they are isolated from each other and the operating system. This hardware bug breaks that isolation.

So, if the bad guys are able to get malicious software running on your computer, they can get access to your passwords stored in a password manager or browser, your emails, instant messages and even business-critical documents. Not good.”

So, What Can We Doing About This?

You need to update and patch all machines on your network. This could to take some time, some of the patches are not even available yet.

In the meantime, we need you to be extra vigilant, with security top of mind and Think Before You Click.

Here is a good site with an FAQ and videos about this SNAFU, that you can refer people to if they want to know more. For instance, antivirus does not protect against this vulnerability.