Intel CEO: Google discovered the chip problem 'months ago' (GOOG, INTC)

• A security vulnerability in chips made by Intel and others was discovered by Google "a couple months ago," Intel's CEO said.
• Intel held a hastily arranged press conference on Wednesday to address the issue, which has caused its stock to fall more than 3%.
• The company said fixes from various partners were coming in the next few days.

The widespread microprocessor flaw that lets hackers "observe" passwords and other sensitive personal data on computers was discovered by Google several months ago, Intel CEO Brian said in an interview on CNBC Wednesday afternoon.

"We were notified by Google a while back ago, a couple months ago,"

Intel said that attackers could "observe content" stored in a PC's secure memory by circumventing security measures that are currently in place. That content includes sensitive information, including passwords and encryption keys. In this particular case, attackers would only be able to observe sensitive data rather than writing any data that could allow them to take control of a computer or make any malicious changes.

The exploit can be achieved using malware, which is a common way attackers can gain access to computers and sensitive information stored within.