Ubuntu turns protection against some security gaps in Intel chips for better performance

As a security researcher-among others from the TU Graz-made the first security gaps public at Intel processors, the excitement was great. On the one hand, because sensitive data could actually be read through the Spectre gaps, but on the other hand also because the countermeasures had a negative impact on the entire performance of the computers affected by it. That should not be surprised either, since it was about side effects of the “speculative execution” that current Intel processors use in order to be able to work as quickly as they do.