Intel Security Breach Leaks 20GB of Internal Documents, Investigation Ongoing

Swiss software engineer Till Kottmann uploaded 20 GB of Intel’s internal documents on file-sharing site MEGA earlier today, with some marked “confidential” or “restricted secret,” noting that he received the files from an anonymous hacker who claimed to have breached Intel earlier this year (via ZDNet).

The Swiss engineer, who manages a popular Telegram channel where he regularly publishes data accidentally leaked online from major tech companies, said that today’s leak represents the first part of a multi-part series of Intel-related leaks.

While none of the leaked files contain sensitive data about Intel customers or employees, the question remains to what else the alleged hacker had access to before stealing and releasing Intel’s confidential files.

ZDNet reviewed the content of today’s files with security researchers who have previously analyzed Intel CPUs in past work, who deemed the leak authentic but didn’t want to be named in this article due to ethical concerns of reviewing confidential data, and because of their ongoing relations with Intel.

Per our analysis, the leaked files contained Intel intellectual property respective to the internal design of various chipsets. The files contained technical specs, product guides, and manuals for CPUs dating back to 2016.

In an emailed statement sent after this article’s publication, Intel denied getting “hacked,” disputting Kottmann’s claim. The company’s full statement is as follows:

“We are investigating this situation. The information appears to come from the Intel Resource and Design Center, which hosts information for use by our customers, partners and other external parties who have registered for access. We believe an individual with access downloaded and shared this data.”

The alleged hacker, however, claims to have obtained the data via an unsecured server hosted on the Akamai CDN and not by using an account on the Intel Resource and Design Center.