Nvidia has transformed into an AI superpower, becoming the third most valuable company in the world off the back of it, so it’s perhaps no surprise other tech giants are looking on in envy and shifting their focus to follow suit.
During its recent earnings call, Samsung reported a consolidated operating profit of $4.8 billion in Q1 – a tenfold increase YoY – and company executives revealed a change in focus going forward.
The plan is now to concentrate on producing HBM and DDR5 memory and high-capacity SSD chips for the enterprise market, rather than targeting consumer PCs and mobile devices.
Meeting demand
“We plan to increase supply of HBM chips in 2024 by more than threefold versus last year,” Kim Jae-june, Samsung’s memory business vice president, said on the call, reported the Korea Economic Daily. “We have already completed talks with our clients on this year’s supply of HBM chips. In 2025, our HBM chip production will double from this year. Our talks on the 2025 volume with our customers are also going well.”
Samsung, currently ranked 23 in the world, has already invested heavily in HBM but currently trails behind its archrival, SK Hynix, in this area. SK Hynix recently announced plans to construct the world’s largest chip factory and has begun a partnership with Taiwanese foundry TSMC to produce HBM4.
Samsung said it anticipates a 50% increase in server DRAM production in Q2, and double output of server SSD in terms of bit growth. The company believes robust demand for AI chips will continue and stretch chip supplies throughout the year.
The South Korean tech giant also revealed it will commence mass production of its 8-layer HBM3E chips this month.
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In 2024, online retail is set for growth, but security is crucial. Last year’s festive season saw a 3.7% increase in online spending and a 12.7% rise in ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) methods, expanding the cyber threat landscape. With more frequent and varying online transactions, security concerns are heightened as they attract more cybercriminal attention.
With a 237% increase in phishing emails during Black Friday in 2023, it’s essential that we revise outdated attitudes that blame consumer negligence and consider how business leaders can safeguard digital infrastructure and websites to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated attack techniques.
Emerging threats in online retail and consumer safety
Global ecommerce fraud losses for 2023 are estimated to have exceeded $48 billion last year, a frightening increase from $41 billion in 2022. Importantly, threat actors are using increasingly complex methods to commit this fraud.
Most notably, my team and I tracked multiple malvertising campaigns that exploited retail and ecommerce websites. Malvertising refers to the use of online advertising to spread malware, whereby harmful links can appear on legitimate websites through ad networks, often exploiting vulnerabilities in web browsers or plugins to deliver malicious code to a user’s computer or device.
We observed a notable increase in these attacks in 2023; one major campaign we tracked exploited Amazon using Google search, leading users to tech support scams and phishing pages. Scammers used cloaking techniques to evade detection; such advanced methods are hard to spot for the untrained eye, highlighting the dangers posed to users trying to shop on popular retail sites.
The BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) industry heightens online fraud risks. It’s a prime target due to rapid growth and lax security checks compared to traditional systems. BNPL systems have less stringent checks, making it easier for cybercriminals to hijack accounts or create new ones with stolen or synthetic identities, combining real and fake details for unauthorised purchases.
Jérôme Segura
Senior Director of Threat Intelligence at Malwarebytes Threatdown Labs.
A three-step action plan for retailers
An amalgamation of advanced fraud tactics, new payment gateways that lack sufficient guardrails, and an overall rise in e-commerce activity is creating a dangerous online environment for consumers. Minimising fraud in the retail space starts with revamping retail security strategies to prioritise consumer safety, but it’s less daunting than some business leaders might think:
1) Appoint a dedicated person or team
Having a team dedicated to cybersecurity is crucial. This team is responsible for keeping software and security measures up to date, monitoring for and responding to security breaches, and reviewing logs for suspicious activities. Outsourcing to specialists is an especially viable option for smaller retailers who can’t maintain an in-house team.
80% of experts believe advanced detection systems such as Managed Detection and Response (MDR) that employ AI play a pivotal role in minimising payments fraud. For example, AI systems can examine diverse datasets to pinpoint trends, creating fraud propensity scores crucial for forecasting and averting improper activities.
2) Support passkeys –– not passwords
The prevalence of weak password choices, reuse, and continued usage has perpetuated scams in the ecommerce space, with over 80% of breaches attributed to stolen credentials. In contrast, supporting the use of passkeys transforms the authentication process by relying on public and private keys, effectively relieving users of the burden associated with password management.
Passkeys use public key cryptography, which is not susceptible to common attacks such as phishing, replay attacks, or credential stuffing, as the private key used for authentication is never stored on a server or transmitted over the internet. The force of cryptography in protecting sensitive information has already been backed by the major ‘big tech’ players, with Google implementing them in users’ accounts last year. Passkeys also offer retailers a 40% increase in speed compared to passwords, enhancing both security and conversion rates – it’s a no brainer for 2024. This increasingly popular method of security for consumers should be wholly supported by retailers as they look to strengthen authentication and boost their bottom line.
3) Calculate business risk and inform security investments
Understanding the full cost of a breach is crucial as a first step to becoming a cyber resilient business. The cost of fraud and security breaches extends far beyond immediate financial losses. Statistics reveal that every $1 of fraud now costs retail and ecommerce merchants $3.75, with the cost in damaged reputation and customer trust being even more significant and harder to quantify. As many as 44% of data breach victims would tell family and friends to avoid the brand, and 30% would express their displeasure on social media.
Retailers should adopt a proactive approach to calculating business risk and informing their security investments. This could involve implementing a comprehensive risk assessment strategy that evaluates all implications of potential breaches and minimises the threats facing customers.
Securing the digital checkout
Prioritising cyber safety for consumers must become standard practice for retailers. Cybersecurity has become a critical aspect of business strategy across industries, and due to the level of threat that persists in the online retail space, it’s a surprise that it’s not already the norm.
The onus is now squarely on retailers to make cybersecurity the must-have accessory for success in 2024 – because in this digital age, protecting consumers isn’t just a trend, it’s the only way forward.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
We’ve written previously about tinybox. The $15,000 AI server system is powered by AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards and can reportedly deliver 37% of Nvidia H100 compute performance.
It seems however, that the creators of tinybox have run into problems with bugs affecting the Radeon-based platform. After parent company tiny corp posted several tweets expressing frustration with AMD’s AI acceleration toolkit – in which it cheekily tagged AMD rivals Nvidia and Intel – AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su, stepped in, saying her team was working to fix the issues.
Unfortunately, the fixes weren’t good enough for tiny corp, which fired off another round of frustrated tweets, asking AMD to “fix their basic s*t” and suggesting the tech giant open source its firmware so that the tiny startup could do what AMD seemed incapable of – namely “fix their LLVM spilling bug and write a fuzzer for HSA”.
If AMD open sources their firmware, I’ll fix their LLVM spilling bug and write a fuzzer for HSA. Otherwise, it’s not worth putting tons of effort into fixing bugs on a platform you don’t own. https://t.co/c4I2So27YGMarch 5, 2024
See more
The dilemma
After things got even more heated, Su tweeted “Thanks for the collaboration and feedback. We are all in to get you a good solution. Team is on it.”
While that could be good news for tiny corp – time will tell – Su could well face a backlash for essentially stepping in to support the use of its consumer products in a server aimed at the enterprise.
As jlake3 commented over on Tom’s Hardware, “tinybox is buying consumer cards instead of datacenter models, but seems to expect a datacenter SLA? They got revised firmware within 6 hours of the earliest linked tweet and a call with engineering the next day, which is more than I’d think a startup buying a bunch of gaming cards would qualify for when there are actual paying enterprise clients, and they appear to be having a public meltdown that AMD isn’t doing more for a startup with less than 100 servers built and none yet shipped (and expressly avoiding using pro GPUs).”
He also made another good point. “As for Nvidia, their EULA forbids using GeForce products for datacenter CUDA applications, so they’d definitely not be dedicating anyone to talk to tinybox in this situation, except maybe a lawyer.”
GIGABYTE has recently unveiled a fresh strategic framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is set to steer the company’s trajectory in the AI-dominated future of the consumer PC market. This forward-thinking approach is built upon three main pillars: the provision of a comprehensive AI operating platform, the implementation of AI-informed product design, and active engagement in the AI ecosystem.
At the heart of GIGABYTE’s new strategy is the AI operating platform that is designed to cater to all-end computing applications, spanning from the cloud to the edge. This platform not only delivers robust computing power for demanding AI workloads in the cloud but also provides instant and reliable AI computing power at the edge. This is achieved through consumer products such as graphics cards and gaming laptops, which are known for their high-performance capabilities. GIGABYTE’s commitment to providing a comprehensive AI operating platform is a testament to the company’s vision of an AI-driven future and its dedication to meeting the evolving needs of consumers.
GIGABYTE AI consumer products
The second pillar of GIGABYTE’s strategic framework is the application of AI in product design. The company is committed to leveraging AI to optimize the design of its products. This involves simulating various usage scenarios and utilizing AI to identify the most effective design parameters. In doing so, GIGABYTE aims to develop products that more accurately meet the diverse needs of its customers. This AI-based approach to product design showcases GIGABYTE’s innovative spirit and its commitment to delivering products that are tailored to the unique requirements of its customers.
The third pillar of GIGABYTE’s AI strategy is its active engagement in the AI ecosystem. The company collaborates closely with industry leaders such as Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD to build a vibrant AI ecosystem. In a noteworthy move, GIGABYTE has launched Azure AI laptops in partnership with Microsoft and continues to extend this collaboration to hybrid AI application functions. The company also partners with various generative AI software developers to ensure compatibility of their products with GIGABYTE hardware, and to emphasize user-friendly interfaces and experiences. This collaborative approach underscores GIGABYTE’s commitment to fostering a thriving AI ecosystem and its dedication to delivering products that provide a seamless user experience.
Other articles we have written that you may find of interest on the subject of Artificial Intelligence (AI) :
The announcement of GIGABYTE’s AI Strategic Framework signals the imminent launch of a range of new AI-centric PC consumer products. The company plans to cover all lines, from motherboards and graphics cards to laptops and gaming monitors. This move is indicative of GIGABYTE’s readiness to embrace the AI-driven future and its commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology to its customers.
GIGABYTE’s new strategic framework for AI represents a significant step towards the future of the consumer PC market. The company’s commitment to providing a comprehensive AI operating platform, implementing AI-based product design, and engaging in the AI ecosystem is a testament to its vision of an AI-driven future. As GIGABYTE prepares to launch a range of new AI-centric PC consumer products, consumers can look forward to a new era of technology that is shaped by AI and driven by innovation.
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