Intel Chip Defect Lawsuit Says Company Kept Computer Owners in the Dark

Intel Corporation faces an Intel chip defect lawsuit filed by a California woman on behalf of herself and all those similarly situated alleging that critical security defects are in Intel chips that permit hackers to steal data from the memory of running apps.

According to the Intel chip defect lawsuit, the defect is present in “nearly every Intel CPU manufactured in the last 20 years and, thus, affects most personal computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and servers in use today.”

Allegedly, the company admitted to it knowing of the Intel chip defect for at least the last six months. They are now are being accused of continuing to sell, manufacture, and distribute defective Intel CPUs without admission of the defect.

According to the Intel chip defect lawsuit, plaintiffs accuse the company of knowing long ago about the defect. Intel either “failed to disclose the defect or was negligent or reckless in failing to discover it,” the lawsuit states.

Overview: Intel Chip Defect Lawsuit

Almost every operating system manufactured within the past 20 years is affected by the Intel chip defect, the lawsuit states. The Intel chip security flaws are dubbed and termed “Spectre” and “Meltdown.” Operating systems affected include Linux, Mac, and Windows.

Researchers on Google’s Project Zero team were the ones who discovered the Intel chip defect and security flaws. “Meltdown” is said to be “one of the worst CPU bugs every found.”

These two separate Intel chip flaws expose risk to a device’s “kernel,” what prevents data between programs from being read. The kernel includes the portion of a computer’s operating system that functions as a medium between applications and components of the device such as the keyboard, memory, processor, and power button.

Intel attempted to release a remedy to fix the defect through a software patch that was released on Jan. 18. However, it was discovered that the software patch caused computers to undergo repeated random reboots. The software patch is even said to slow down computers as much as 30 percent.

On Jan. 22, Intel advised users to “stop deployment of current versions [of the patch], as they may introduce higher than expected reboots and other unpredictable system behavior.” The company announced that they were investigating why the software patches were causing these problems.

Consumers impacted by the defective Intel chip allege that they were harmed in some of the following ways:

• Having to encounter a slowdown in performance and speed
• Paying a higher price for a product that did not perform as advertised
• Paying to either upgrade or exchange costly computers, processors, and other devices
• Having to suffer from increased energy costs because of performance decrease

What makes the Meltdown and Spectre exploits particularly scary is that they cannot be seen in system logs or through antivirus software. Through the Intel defect chip, hackers can extricate important date kept in the memory of other programs that are running.

The Intel Chip Defect Lawsuit is Case No. 5:18-cv-00352, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.

Join a Free Intel Processor Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or your company were negatively affected by the Intel processor defect, including suffering damages caused by installing the Intel software patch, you may have a legal claim.

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