Intel is facing 32 lawsuits, the majority from consumers, regarding two major security breaches of its products revealed at the start of the year.
In a regulatory filing Intel said that, as of 15 February 2018, 30 consumer and two securities class action lawsuits had been filed regarding the security hacks known as Spectre and Meltdown.
The action from consumers, which Intel said represent end-users of its products, “generally claim to have been harmed by Intel’s actions and/or omissions in connection with the security vulnerabilities” and are seeking monetary damage and equitable relief.
It explained the two security class action lawsuits had been filed by individuals which claim to represent classes of buyers of Intel stock and “generally allege that Intel and certain officers violated securities laws by making statements about Intel’s products and internal controls that were revealed to be false or misleading by the disclosure of the security vulnerabilities.”
The company said it disputed the claims and “intends to defend the lawsuits vigorously”, adding it was not yet able to provide a figure on the amount of damages it may have to pay at this early stage.
Processor technology from companies including Intel, ARM and AMD was found to have a security vulnerability with the potential to allow access to sensitive information stored on smartphones, computers and other devices.
Security researchers from Google found the two flaws in June 2017, and the issue was publicised in January this year.
Intel since issued fixed for the problem, but Reuters reported some of the patches slowed down computers which could explain the lawsuits, as the devices in question are not working as they should.
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