Intel has thrown down the gauntlet in the ongoing battle for chip dominance, releasing a new Product Security Report that levels some serious accusations against rivals AMD and Nvidia. The report, released this week, claims that AMD and Nvidia products have a significantly higher number of security vulnerabilities compared to Intel's own offerings. Is this a genuine concern for consumers, or simply a strategic play to undermine the competition? The tech world is buzzing.

According to Intel's findings, AMD allegedly has "4.4x more firmware vulnerabilities in their hardware root-of-trust" and "1.8x more firmware vulnerabilities in their confidential computing technologies" compared to Intel. The report also shines a harsh light on Nvidia, stating that all 18 of the security vulnerabilities discovered in their GPUs in 2024 were classified as high severity, with 13 of them carrying the risk of remote code execution. This could allow hackers to gain complete control of affected systems.

Intel, in contrast, boasts that only 10 issues were identified in its GPUs, with just one considered severe. They further claim that 100% of their root-of-trust bugs were found internally.

AMD's Security Gaps Exposed?

The report also alleges that AMD only discovered about 57% of reported platform vulnerabilities themselves, with the remaining 43% being found by external security researchers or the public. Intel also pointed out that AMD has vulnerabilities in its Secure Processor engine, with 78 different product models affected and "no fix planned"

Is This a Legitimate Warning or Competitive Mud-Slinging?

While Intel emphasises its commitment to proactive security, some industry experts are suggesting taking these claims with a grain of salt. The semiconductor industry is fiercely competitive, with Intel, AMD, and Nvidia constantly vying for market share.

"The goal is not to compare vulnerability counts but to look deeper at the types of vulnerabilities and the foundational technologies they impact,” Intel stated in the report

Chipmakers Respond with Security Updates

In the wake of Intel's report, all three chipmakers have released new security advisories. Intel published 34 new advisories, with one classified as critical. AMD issued 11 security advisories, addressing high-severity vulnerabilities in its processors and graphics drivers. Nvidia has also released security updates targeting remote code execution risks.

Regardless of the motivations behind Intel's report, the message for consumers is clear: security is paramount. Users of AMD and Nvidia products should be acutely aware of security updates and install patches as soon as they are available.

The security landscape is constantly evolving, and staying informed is the best defense.