This is how Spectre stayed secret for seven months — and then leaked out.

When Graz University of Technology researcher Michael Schwarz first reached out to Intel, he thought he was about to ruin the company’s day. He found a problem with their chips, together with his colleagues. The vulnerability was both profound and immediately exploitable. His team finished the exploit on December 3rd, a Sunday afternoon. Realizing the gravity of what they’d found, they emailed Intel immediately. Nine days passed before Schwarz heard back.