ARM CEO talks Meltdown/Spectre, IoT and the AI

TL;DR

ARM designs building blocks within chips, including microprocessors, graphics processors, and video encode/decode engines, with their technology being used in a wide range of products. They have addressed the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities and are focused on IoT device management for enhanced security.

Transcript

let's talk about what arm actually does because I think for a lot of people it's not really clear yet despite the fact that we're here at CES and almost every product uses you're a product I'm often gets described as a semiconductor company and we're not we design building blocks within the chip so micro processors graphics processors video encode ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🦾 ARM designs building blocks within chips, focusing on microprocessors, graphics processors, and video encode/decode engines.
• 😃 Their technology is used in a wide range of products, including big-screen TVs and tiny IoT sensors.
• 🐿️ Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities have raised awareness about the importance of chip security, but only a small percentage of ARM chips are susceptible.
• 💦 ARM has been working with partners to develop mitigations and software patches to address the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.
• 🔒 IoT device management is a focus for ARM to ensure better security and software updates for connected devices in the future.
• 🙈 ARM sees new business opportunities in device management and abstracting hardware features for software utilization.
• ✊ The future of computing relies on enhancing user experiences and enabling new functionalities through improved computing power.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does ARM's technology differ from traditional semiconductors?

ARM designs building blocks within chips, which include microprocessors, graphics processors, and video encode/decode engines. They provide these designs to chip manufacturers rather than selling complete semiconductor products.

Q: How many chips containing ARM processors have been shipped by their licensees?

ARM licensees have shipped around 120 billion chips that contain ARM processors. These chips are used in a wide range of products, from big-screen TVs to tiny sensors for IoT devices.

Q: Are all devices with chips susceptible to Spectre and Meltdown attacks?

While Spectre and Meltdown have raised awareness about vulnerabilities, only about 5% of the 128 billion chips sold by ARM licensees have the level of sophistication necessary for these attacks. Most devices are not affected.

Q: How is ARM addressing the security of IoT devices in the future?

ARM is developing an IoT device management platform to ensure that all connected devices can be managed throughout their lifetime. They recognize the need for better security measures in older IoT devices that stay in use for longer periods.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• ARM is not a semiconductor company but designs building blocks within chips, such as microprocessors, graphics processors, and video encode/decode engines.

• ARM technology is widely used in various products, including big-screen TVs and tiny sensors for IoT devices.

• ARM has addressed the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities by working with partners to develop mitigations and software workarounds.