Spectre blog post
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<p>
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A grounded and principled understanding of the cybersecurity domain can ensure
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your organisation is not liable to any unwanted security threats. We provide
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structured training.
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structured training taliored to your threat model.
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</p>
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</li>
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</ul>
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---
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layout: post
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title: Our Founding Principles
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description: Autonomic Co-operative And Our Core Values.
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image: pic01.jpg
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description: Autonomic Co-operative And Our Core Values
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image: thinkpad.jpg
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category: values
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date: 2017-10-03
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---
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---
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layout: post
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title: Spectre and Meltdown
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description: A Spectre Is Haunting Our Processors...
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image: spectre.jpg
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category: values
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date: 2018-01-11
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---
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Autonomic have now completed the process of applying patches to to all
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of our servers in response to the so called Spectre and Meltdown
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vulnerabilities. Our upstream providers have also confirmed that they have
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patched their infrastructure. We will monitor the situation as it develops.
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We are currently super busy with clients so we decided to repost the
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excellent security bulletin from our friends over at [Rise Up](https://riseup.net/)
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which goes into detail oh how to update various operating systems. All credit
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to them for the rest of this blog post.
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## The Facts
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As you have probably read, there are three related security problems in
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contemporary CPUs. These vulnerabilities open the potential for a
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nefarious program to steal passwords, secrets, and personal information
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from you computer, even if the program is just Javascript loaded from a
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web site you visit. These vulnerabilities are as serious as they sound,
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and you should take action to upgrade your software.
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* The first flaw, called "Meltdown," affects nearly all Intel CPUs and
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has been fixed with updates to most operating systems.
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* The two other flaws, called "Spectre," apply to nearly all CPUs built
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in the last 20 years, not just Intel, although they are more difficult
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to exploit. There are no permanent fixes for Spectre available at this
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time, although if you update your software you will make these attacks
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much less likely.
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You should take *both* these steps now, for all your devices:
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* Upgrade your web browser (see below). These fixes make the new
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attacks against CPUs more much difficult.
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* Upgrade your operating system. There are updates available for
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Windows, macOS, and GNU/Linux that fix the Meltdown vulnerability for
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Intel CPUs and provide some mitigations for Spectre. Additionally, new
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releases of iOS and Android have mitigations for Spectre.
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Better fixes will continue to arrive in the next weeks/months for your
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operating system and software. Please keep your system up to date!
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## Browsers
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By updating your browser, you can make it significantly harder for an
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attacker to steal secrets off your computer using Javascript loaded from
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a web site you visit.
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Firefox version 57.0.4 and later [includes mitigation measures](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2018-01/)
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against Spectre attack.
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Edge has been updated to include Spectre migitations. When you apply the
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latest Windows update, you will get the new version of Edge.
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Safari will be updated very soon, according to Apple. Check the App
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Store updates.
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Chrome will include Spectre mitigations starting with version 64, to be
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released Jan 23. In the mean time, you can change your configuration to
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greatly mitigate [against the Spectre vulnerability by enabling](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/7623121?hl=en)
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"site isolation."
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Additionally, please see [Rise Up's better browsing guide](https://riseup.net/en/better-web-browsing) for
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instructions on best practices for securing your web experience (which
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will also help mitigate against these new attacks).
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## Windows
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For Windows 10, you must first upgrade any anti-virus software before
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upgrading Windows. [Failure to do so may make your computer stop working](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/04/microsoft_windows_patch_meltdown/).
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To upgrade Windows 10:
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```
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Select the Start button, and then go to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update, and select Check for updates.
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```
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Now is a good time to enable automatic updates:
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```
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Select the "Start" button, then select "Settings" > "Update & security" > "Windows Update" > "Advanced options"
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and then under "Choose how updates are installed", select "Automatic (recommended)".
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```
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If you are running Windows 7 or 8, an update is also available.
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## macOS
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If you already have macOS version 10.13.2 then you are [protected against Meltdown](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208394).
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Otherwise, to upgrade macOS:
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```
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Open the App Store app on your Mac. Click "Updates" in the App Store toolbar, then use the "Update" buttons
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to download and install any updates listed.
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```
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Now is a good time to check enable automatic updates:
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```
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Select the Apple menu, then select "System Preferences" > "App Store" > "Automatically check for updates".
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```
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Apple plans to soon release an update to Safari browser to provide some
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mitigation against Spectre.
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## iOS
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Apple has said that iOS is affected by Spectre, and an update to
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mitigate against most of the new attacks has been released. If you have
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iOS version 11.2 or later, [then you are good](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208394).
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To check for new updates, go to `Settings > General > Software Update.`
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## Android
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The bad news is that Android is vulnerable to Spectre and unless you
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have a Google-branded phone or run a custom firmware you might not get
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an update for months, if ever. However, the consensus among security
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researchers at the moment is that the Spectre attack is difficult enough
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that there are probably easier ways to compromise an Android device.
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Yeah?
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There is one thing you can do now to make your Android device more safe
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against these new CPU attacks:
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* Turn on ["site isolation" in Chrome](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/7623121?hl=en)
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* Upgrade Chrome Browser after Jan 23.
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* Alternately, use Firefox for Android.
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## Debian/Ubuntu GNU/Linux
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Run "Software Center" or "Software Updater."
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Alternately, open a terminal and type:
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```
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sudo apt update
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sudo apt upgrade
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sudo reboot
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```
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## Fedora GNU/Linux
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Open a terminal and type:
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```
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sudo dnf --refresh update kernel
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sudo reboot
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```
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