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Technology6h 34m ago
MIT researchers developed Fractal, a new operating system kernel, and used it to identify previously undetected speculative execution vulnerabilities, including 'Phantom' attacks, and design oversights in Apple's M1 processor.
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Massachusetts, USA
Who
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) team, Joseph Ravichandran, Apple
What
MIT researchers developed Fractal, a new operating system kernel, and used it to identify previously undetected speculative execution vulnerabilities, including 'Phantom' attacks, and design oversights in Apple's M1 processor.
When
Sat, 13 Jun 2026 06:30:00 GMT · 6h 34m ago
Where
Massachusetts, USA ·
Why
Existing operating systems are insufficient for detailed microarchitectural security research due to instability and interference, prompting the need for a dedicated tool to study hardware behavior directly.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
The findings challenge previous understanding of M1 security, demonstrating a need for re-evaluation of current security assumptions in Apple Silicon, and provide a new, more reliable tool for microarchitecture research across the industry.
Story chain
3 events in this thread- Currently Reading6h 34m agoMIT researchers developed Fractal, a new operating system kernel, and used it to identify previously undetected speculative execution vulnerabilities, including 'Phantom' attacks, and design oversights in Apple's M1 processor.
- Technology6h 34m agoA team at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) developed Fractal, a new operating system kernel, to study how processor chips work at a fundamental level.Open article
- Technology6h 34m agoResearchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a new operating system, Fractal, to study microarchitectural behavior in chips, revealing previously undiscovered speculative attack vulnerabilities in Apple's M1 processor.Open article