Tag Archive for: ‘Eye

Everyone wants to make AI chips, UK antitrust hawks eye cloud providers, and MGM rebuffs ransom demand


Generative artificial intelligence continued to dominate the news this week as Anthropic reportedly is raising an additional $2 billion from Google and others, and reports indicated that gen AI partners OpenAI and Microsoft are each looking to design their own AI chips during a severe shortage of graphics processing units from Nvidia.

Meanwhile, U.K. antitrust authorities zeroed in on cloud computing providers, in particular Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. On this side of the pond, the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google plodded ahead, though some have doubts about the Federal Trade Commission’s similarly sweeping case against Amazon.

On the cybersecurity front, MGM Resorts International declined to pay a ransom following a costly attack that took out its systems, a contrast to Caesar’s Entertainment’s decision to pay $30 million after an attack last month.

Finally, chipmaking giant Intel keeps spinning things out, this time its programmable-chip business, to shore up its finances.

Hear more about this and other news in theCUBE Pod, John Furrier’s and Dave Vellante’s weekly podcast, out now on YouTube. And don’t miss Vellante’s weekly Breaking Analysis, coming Saturday, in which he will dig into how higher interest rates may depress tech spending for longer than many people may assume.

So here’s the news we reported this week:

AI everywhere

It appears Google isn’t out of the Anthropic AIverse yet: Anthropic seeks huge investment from Google just days after Amazon invested billions It’s quite a bit behind OpenAI on revenue apparently, but its enterprise focus and seemingly more open partnership strategy would seem to bode well.

Billions of dollars burning a hole in OpenAI’s pocket? Maybe, but they gotta get more compute somewhere: Report: OpenAI could develop custom AI chips

And late-breaking Friday, Microsoft also may do its own AI chip.

More fun with more realistic weird images: Microsoft integrates OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 into Bing for enhanced image creation

And just a whole heck of a lot of new gen AI-powered business applications — but aren’t they all today?:

Dell enhances its generative AI hardware and software portfolio…

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Why your cyber clients need to keep an eye on ransomware 


Canada was the third most affected country in the world for successful ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and extortion attacks in the first and second quarters of 2003, said a report from cybersecurity company Trend Micro. 

The report, LockBit, BlackCat, and Clop Prevail as Top RaaS Groups: Ransomware in 1H 2023, found Canada only behind the U.S. and U.K. for RaaS and extortion attacks.  

Healthcare, education and technology emerged as the Top 3 industries in ransomware file detection in Canada in 2023 1H. 

“The report revealed that many ransomware threat actors are no longer going after ‘big game’ targets, instead focusing on [small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)] they presume to be less well-defended,” said a statement on behalf of Trend Micro.

“In Canada, while ransomware file detection at [large] organizations decreased by 69.13% in the second quarter of the year, data shows a 214.29% increase in file detections for SMBs.” 

Findings from Trend Micro’s report align with previous studies on the topic.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security called ransomware “almost certainly the most disruptive form of cybercrime facing Canada” because it is pervasive and can have a serious impact on an organization’s ability to function. In a report last month, the centre concluded organized cybercrime will very likely pose a threat to Canada’s national security and economic prosperity over the next two years. 

 

Pace is increasing

According to Trend Micro, the number of victim organizations around the world surged in the first half of 2023 to reach 2,001. That’s a 45.27% increase compared to the last half of 2022. LockBit, Clop and BlackCat were the three most prominent ransomware groups with the greatest number of successful attacks in 2023 1H. 

Clop threat actors claimed to have compromised 130 organizations, including the City of Toronto, in a massive ransomware attack on Jan. 31, 2023. TechCrunch, an online publication for high-tech and start-up companies, reported the City of Toronto “confirmed that unauthorized access to city data did occur through a third-party vendor. 

“The access is limited to files that were unable to be processed…

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India hands over warship to Vietnam, with an eye on China | India News


NEW DELHI: India on Saturday handed over missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam, with Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar stressing the convergence of views between the two countries on the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s belligerence in the region.

“Vietnam serves as an important partner in India’s ‘Indo-Pacific Vision’, which aims to strengthen ties and develop partnerships towards keeping the region safe, secure and stable,” Admiral Kumar said, presiding over the ceremony at Cam Ranh.

“The recent signing of the ‘joint vision statement on India-Vietnam defence partnership towards 2030’ will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing security collaboration and ensure that no ‘single’ nation can unilaterally alter or misinterpret rules to serve its own interests in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh had announced the “gifting” of INS Kirpan, the 1,450-tonne Khukri-class missile corvette in service with the Indian Navy, during his meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang in New Delhi on June 19, in yet another military outreach to the Southeast Asian country.

China has been regularly sending warships and survey vessels into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), fuelling tensions in the already contentious South China Sea due to Beijing’s expansionist territorial claims against its neighbours.
“Both India and Vietnam are responsible members of the global community and regularly demonstrate their commitment to upholding the principles of fairness and justice enshrined in the international legal framework,” Admiral Kumar said.
The Navy chief referred to India “gracefully accepting” the International Court of Justice’s decision that gave Bangladesh access to a larger sea area in a disputed stretch in the Bay of Bengal.
“Such examples set a precedence for resolving future disputes through shared values of peaceful means, abiding by international law and strengthening bonds between two nations,” he said.
The 90-meter-long INS Kirpan, which is manned by 12 officers and 100 sailors, was decommissioned from the Indian Navy after completing 32 years of service and handed over with a…

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AI images take social media by storm, there may be more to it than meets the eye


BLOOMINGTON — Leito Navarrete has spent his whole life sharpening his craft.

“Fragmentation, collage, composition. I take a lot of inspiration from street art and graffiti,” Navarrete said.

But the Indiana University Graduate Student is concerned about the future of his industry.

“Almost every other image, or at least one in five images, scrolling down on Instagram is a Lensa portrait,” Navarette said.

On Thursday, Lensa AI is the most popular app in the U.S. on Apple’s App Store.

The app, produced by Prisma Labs, Inc., uses an open-source neural network model called Stable Diffusion to create computer-generated images.

Some like Navarrete argue that model takes artists’ material without their consent in the process.

“The most problematic part about this technology, aside from copyright and theft, is making a profit off of this kind of software,” he said.

The app asks you to upload 10 to 20 selfies and then pay a fee of $7.99 to $15.99, depending on the number of variations and styles you’d like.

When it’s done, you’re left with dozens, even hundreds of “magic avatars”.

Senior Editor of Security at Wired Andrew Couts says the app may pose cyber security risks.

“The main thing I would be concerned about is the behavioral analytics that they’re collecting. if I were going to use the app, I would make sure to turn on as restrictive privacy settings as possible,” Couts said.

According to the app, photos are immediately deleted from its servers after the Avatars are ready.

Regardless, Couts says to be cautious.

“You can change your privacy settings on your phone to make sure that the app isn’t collecting as much data as it seems to be able to. And you can make sure that you’re not sharing images that contain anything more private than just your face,” Couts said.

As for Navarrete, he hopes consumers will support local artists as much as these apps.

“I think it will become more challenging, even more so than it already is, to make a living as a painter and as an artist. To justify your field of work, expertise and what you can bring to the table,” Navarette said.

WRTV emailed Prisma Labs and a spokesperson directed us to a FAQ with detailed information on the app.

On…

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