Intel Admits Issues With Firmware, Conducts Security Review

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) recently announced that it has conducted a security review of Intel Management Engine (ME), Intel Server Platform Services (SPS), and Intel Trusted Execution Engine (TXE) related to issues identified by external researchers.

Outcome of the Review

The company has acknowledged the areas of concern that can be potential risks for the systems, which have been deployed since 2015. The company’s ME firmware displayed weakness through which the entire system could be hacked.

Per Intel’s review, a hacker can access its platform and third-party information taking advantage of the system’s vulnerabilities, thereby posing a huge risk for users.

Notably, Dell and Lenovo have stated that a huge number of systems have been affected by this. Though there have been no reports of a breach so far, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants a quick solution to avoid an unfavorable situation.

The Fix

Intel has a launched a new tool that is available for downloading from its website to detect if a user’s system has been impacted. Windows and Linux users will be able to use the tool.

However, the company will not be providing the patches for fixing the vulnerabilities. The manufacturer of the system will have to be contacted for the same.

How Will the Tool Help?

In a recent article, Gartner stated that organizations are shifting toward detection and response from prevention-only approaches while prioritizing security. Intel’s move seems to be in sync with this statement.

Although quite late, Intel’s current approach related to the review process will likely help it regain customer confidence. We believe that this will boost adoption rate of the Intel’s 8th Generation Core processor (Coffee Lake), which includes the company’s first six-core desktop central processing unit (CPU).

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Intel has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) , Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The long-term earnings growth rate for NVIDIA, Micron Technology and NetApp are projected to be 11.2%, 10% and 11.34% respectively.

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