[January 5, 2018] Meltdown and Spectre pose significant threats to organizations managing a VDI. But what do these exploits mean for NoTouch OS customers?
First of all, Meltdown and Spectre are not software issues. They are in fact CPU issues arising from certain design decisions made by the creators of various CPUs. For this reason, the impact that these exploits have on your devices varies depending on what CPU you are using. All major CPU vendors, including Intel and AMD have made detailed statements about their specific models. We encourage you to review these closely in order to ensure your security.
Raspberry Pi is immune to Meltdown and Spectre
For those running NoTouch OS on the Raspberry Pi –your endpoints will not be affected . While some ARM CPUs are affected by Meltdown and Spectre, the ARM Cortex A53 used in the Raspberry Pi 3 is not. For this reason, your Raspberry Pi based Thin Client is totally immune to both Meltdown and Spectre and will not require any patching or updates in regards to this issue.
NoTouch OS defends itself from third party applications
For all other customers , while the impact does vary depending on the CPU in use, keep in mind that an attack meant to exploit such issues on a NoTouch powered solution is impractical –almost impossible. NoTouch OS runs only the Citrix Receiver or the VMware Horizon View client. Users do not have the ability to install third party apps locally, which makes it impossible for local execution of unintended or unauthorized code. NoTouch OS is designed with security in mind. It protects not only against Spectre and Meltdown, but also against many other potential attack vectors that might hit desktop PCs or even repurposed or locked-down Windows PCs.
In any case, Stratodesk will follow the Linux community’s efforts closely and integrate and release all relevant fixes and patches or other types of mitigation as they become available.
UPDATE: NoTouch OS 2.40.2658 contains the appropriate security updates.
Meltdown and Spectre logos were designed by Natascha Eibl and used under Creative Commons license.
