Spectre and Meltdown are major vulnerabilities, ones that could have very far-reaching implications. As Intel and the other chip manufacturers are figuring out exactly what to do about the loss of performance on their chips, the major providers of operating systems have all released guidance on how to best approach the problem.
For now, the answer seems to be simply replacing the chips, which is a costly endeavor at best, and one that is going to take some time. Immediately, there is a need to address the problem until this can take place.
If you are working in a cloud environment that is hosted with another company, White Raven strongly suggests that you contact them to be certain they are taking appropriate steps as well.
As always, test your patches before releasing them into production. Also, check your IPS/IDS devices for updates, as many manufacturers are releasing patches to limit impact as well.
Details from Google
Project Zero has released the details of their testing here.
CERT and National Cyber Security Centre
Cert has given us a listing of vendor updates here.
The National Cyber Security Center has begun a similar list here.
Vendor responses:
CLOUD COMPUTING PROVIDERS
Microsoft
Microsoft has already released a patch this month, as part of their monthly cycle. Furthermore, they have released this article to explain how to properly protect their server operating systems.
Linux Operating Systems
VMWare
Citrix