Intel did not tell US cyber officials about chip flaws until made public

FILE PHOTO - Intel processors are displayed at a store in Seoul June 21, 2012. REUTERS/Choi Dae-woong/File Photo

Intel Corp did not inform US cyber security officials of the so-called Meltdown and Spectre chip security flaws until they leaked to the public, six months after Alphabet Inc notified the chipmaker of the problems, according to letters sent by tech companies to lawmakers on Thursday.

Current and former US government officials have raised concerns that the government was not informed of the flaws before they became public because the flaws potentially held national security implications. Intel said it did not think the flaws needed to be shared with US authorities as hackers had not exploited the vulnerabilities.