According to a recent discovery by security researchers, it seems that some Chromebooks that use a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) have a bug that allows hackers to brute-force their way into a Chromebook to obtain encrypted data. Thankfully the bug has since been patched, but the patch comes at a cost.
It seems that applying the patch will result in local data being wiped off your Chromebook computer, which means that you’ll need to reinstall everything again, which can be rather troublesome. However the good news is that Google has made the patch optional, meaning that you don’t have to apply it if you don’t want to.
Wait, a security patch that is optional? This is because according to the researchers, they have estimated that it would take about 140 CPU years to break a single encryption key, which means that in terms of your computer actually being affected is pretty low (there’s still a chance, but not a high one).
However if you want to be on the safe side, you can go ahead and install the patch. Also note that this vulnerability only affects Chromebooks that use the latest Infineon TPM chip, which you can check out the entire list over at Android Police if you’re wonder if your Chromebook could be one of the affected ones.
Filed in . Read more about Chrome Os, Chromebook, Google, Laptops and Security.