32 Lawsuits Filed Against Intel for CPU Security Flaws

Over 30 lawsuits have been filed by Intel customers and shareholders following the disclosure of the Meltdown and Spectre attack methods.

According to an annual report submitted by Intel to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), three class action lawsuits were filed against Intel within one week of the Meltdown & Spectre flaw disclosure, but that numbers reached 32 as of February 15.

Intel faces 30 customer class action lawsuits by customers who claim to have been harmed by Intel’s actions and/or omission in connection to the Meltdown and Spectre. The two securities class action lawsuits 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 disclose of the vulnerabilities.

One of the lawsuits was filed just last Monday by the city of Providence who is seeking $5 billion from Intel. The lawsuit claims, “This is a consumer protection action seeking injunctive relief and damages arising from Defendant Intel's sale of defective microprocessor chips to Plaintiff and Class Members for over twenty-three (23) years. Intel's microprocessor chips are defective because they possess significant security vulnerabilities that, if exploited, permit an adversary to access sensitive data stored elsewhere on the machine or in the "cloud." Defendant has been aware of these issues since at least June 2017, and thus far, is unable to offer consumers who purchased devices containing defective microprocessor chips that possess the significant security vulnerabilities described herein ("Affected Devices") an effective remedy.”

Intel noted, “We dispute the claims described above and intend to defend the lawsuits vigorously. Given the procedural posture and the nature of these cases, including that the proceedings are in the early stages, that alleged damages have not been specified, that uncertainty exists as to the likelihood of a class or classes being certified or the ultimate size of any class or classes if certified, and that there are significant factual and legal issues to be resolved, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of losses, if any, that might arise from these matters.”

Three shareholder derivative lawsuits have been filed in California against certain board members and officers. The lawsuits allege the members breached their duties to Intel in connection with the disclosure of the security vulnerabilities and the failure to take action in relation to alleged insider trading. The complaints seek to recover damages from the defendants on behalf of Intel.

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