In its latest crackdown designed to curb China’s dominance in the tech sector, and amid continued geopolitical tensions, the United States has revoked certain licenses permitting the sale of chips to Shenzhen-based Huawei.
The news, confirmed by the US Department of Commerce (via CNBC), fails to detail the specific licenses that have been revoked.
According to the agency, the decision aligns with the US’s ongoing assessment of how best to safeguard its national security interests amid a dynamic digital threat landscape.
US revokes certain China licenses
This isn’t the US’s first anti-Huawei campaign – in 2019, the US added Huawei to an “entity list” over its concerns that the Chinese company had ties to the country’s military.
Despite recent stringent trade regulations, Huawei has shown tremendous resilience, particularly in its consumer business. The recent launch of the Mate 60 Pro has been a significant factor in the company’s global success – the smartphone uses chips produced by the country’s top chipmaker, SMIC, which addresses and bypasses restrictions imposed by the US and other governments.
Though Huawei doesn’t make it into the list of top five smartphone brands for global shipments, the company saw a colossal 70% year-on-year increase in shipments in mainland China, when in Q1 2024, it accounted for 17% of the entire market.
OPPO, HONOR, vivo and Apple accounted for between 15-16% each, highlighting the level of digital diversity in China.
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More broadly, the US government’s actions come amidst escalating tensions between the two nations – President Biden recently signed legislation that could potentially ban TikTok in the US unless it splits from its Chinese parent company.
In recent years, the intertwined nature of economic and geopolitical interests has become increasingly apparent, but the slow development of such restrictions has given both sides time to adapt accordingly, rendering many of the bans ineffective at best.
Multiple North Korean state-sponsored hacking groups have been attacking South Korean defense companies for more than a year, stealing login credentials and sensitive data.
A Reuters report, citing South Korea’s law enforcement, claims three major threat actors – Lazarus, Kimsuky, and Andariel, have been going after defense organizations and third-party contractors, planting malicious code in data systems, pulling out passwords and technical information.
The police managed to identify the attackers by tracking their source IP addresses, re-routing architecture of the signals, and the malware signatures.
Lazarus attacks again
The report did not state which organizations were targeted, or what the nature of the data was, but Reuters did hint that South Korea grew into a “major global defense exporter”, with fresh contracts to sell mechanized howitzers, tanks, and fighter jets. The deals were reportedly valued at billions of dollars.
While all three of these threat actors have made headlines before, Lazarus Group is probably the most infamous one. This group was observed targeting cryptocurrency businesses in the west, stealing millions of dollars in crypto tokens, with which the North Korean government apparently finances its nuclear weapons programs.
The biggest crypto heist to happen to this day is the April 2022 breach at the Ronin network, which resulted in the theft of $625 million in various cryptocurrencies. Ronin network is a cryptocurrency bridge developed by the same company behind the hugely popular blockchain-based game, Axie Infinity.
A bridge is a service that allows users to transfer crypto tokens from one network to another.
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Besides Ronin, Lazarus Group was also confirmed to be behind the Harmony bridge attack, which happened in June 2022, and resulted in the theft of $100 million.
Visa is warning its partners, clients, and customers, of an ongoing phishing attack that aims to deliver a banking trojan.
The Visa Payment Fraud Disruption (PDF) unit sent out a security alert to card issuers, processors, and acquirers, noting it had observed a new phishing campaign that started in late March this year.
The campaign targets mostly financial institutions in South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and aims to drop a new version of the banking trojan called JsOutProx. “While PFD could not confirm the ultimate goal of the recently identified malware campaign, this eCrime group may have previously targeted financial institutions to conduct fraudulent activity.”
Impersonating legitimate institutions
Unfortunately, we don’t know the name of the threat actor behind the campaign, or the number of companies that fell victim. The researchers speculate, based on the sophistication of the attacks, the profile of the victims, and their geographical location, that the attackers are most likely China-based, or at least China-affiliated.
We also know is that JsOutProx is a remote access trojan that was first spotted in late 2019, and is described as a “highly obfuscated” JavaScript backdoor that allows its users to run shell commands, download additional malware, run files, grab screenshots, control various peripherals, and establish persistence on the target endpoint. It’s hosted on a GitLab repository, apparently.
In the phishing emails, the attackers are impersonating legitimate institutions, showing victims fake SWIFT and MoneyGram payment notifications.
Phishing remains one of the most lucrative ways to deploy malware. It’s cheap and easily scalable, and now with the help of generative artificial intelligence, relatively difficult to spot. IT teams are advised to educate their employees to identify a phishing attack, as well as to install email security software, firewalls, and antivirus tools.
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According to Israeli startup NeuReality, many AI possibilities aren’t fully realized due to the cost and complexity of building and scaling AI systems.
Current solutions are not optimized for inference and rely on general-purpose CPUs, which were not designed for AI. Moreover, CPU-centric architectures necessitate multiple hardware components, resulting in underutilized Deep Learning Accelerators (DLAs) due to CPU bottlenecks.
NeuReality’s answer to this problem is the NR1AI Inference Solution, a combination of purpose-built software and a unique network addressable inference server-on-a-chip. NeuReality says this will deliver improved performance and scalability at a lower cost alongside reduced power consumption.
An express lane for large AI pipelines
“Our disruptive AI Inference technology is unbound by conventional CPUs, GPUs, and NICs,” said NeuReality’s CEO Moshe Tanach. “We didn’t try to just improve an already flawed system. Instead, we unpacked and redefined the ideal AI Inference system from top to bottom and end to end, to deliver breakthrough performance, cost savings, and energy efficiency.”
The key to NeuReality’s solution is a Network Addressable Processing Unit (NAPU), a new architecture design that leverages the power of DLAs. The NeuReality NR1, a network addressable inference Server-on-a-Chip, has an embedded Neural Network Engine and a NAPU.
This new architecture enables inference through hardware with AI-over-Fabric, an AI hypervisor, and AI-pipeline offload.
The company has two products that utilize its Server-on-a-Chip: the NR1-M AI Inference Module and the NR1-S AI Inference Appliance. The former is a Full-Height, Double-wide PCIe card that contains one NR1 NAPU system-on-a-chip and a network-addressable Inference Server that can connect to an external DLA. The latter is an AI-centric inference server containing NR1-M modules with the NR1 NAPU. NeuReality claims the server “lowers cost and power performance by up to 50X but doesn’t require IT to implement for end users.”
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“Investing in more and more DLAs, GPUs, LPUs, TPUs… won’t address your core issue of system inefficiency,” said Tanach. “It’s akin to installing a faster engine in your car to navigate through traffic congestion and dead ends – it simply won’t get you to your destination any faster. NeuReality, on the other hand, provides an express lane for large AI pipelines, seamlessly routing tasks to purpose-built AI devices and swiftly delivering responses to your customers, while conserving both resources and capital.”
NeuReality recently secured $20 million in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Varana Capital, Cleveland Avenue, XT Hi-Tech and OurCrowd.
Data centers produce a lot of waste heat that could one day be recycled and used to heat millions of homes.
Now, French data center company Data4 has partnered with the University of Paris-Saclay to launch a project that aims to use data center heat to grow algae, which can then be recycled into energy. The pilot project, set to commence early in 2024, will be trialed in the Paris region.
This initiative, led by a diverse team of experts from various fields, is driven by the French administration “Conseil Départemental de l’Essonne” and the Foundation Université Paris-Saclay. The project comes as a response to the escalating environmental impact of data centers, which have seen a 35% annual increase in data storage worldwide.
A more efficient alternative
(Image credit: Data4)
The algae grown from the captured CO2 will be recycled into biomass to create new circular energy sources and will also be used in the production of bioproducts for other industries.
According to a feasibility study conducted with start-up Blue Planet Ecosystems, the carbon capture efficiency of this method can be 20 times greater than that of a tree.
Data4 says using the data center waste heat for the growth of algae is a more efficient alternative to the common practice of using it to warm nearby homes, which only utilizes 20% of the heat produced.
“This augmented biomass project meets two of the major challenges of our time: food security and the energy transition. This requires close collaboration between all the players in the Essonne region, including Data4, to develop a genuine industrial ecology project, aimed at pooling resources and reducing consumption in the region. Thanks to this partnership with the Fondation de l’Université Paris Saclay, we have the opportunity to draw on one of the world’s most prestigious scientific communities to work towards a common goal of a circular energy economy,” says Linda Lescuyer, Innovation Manager, Data4.
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With the debate surrounding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles persisting, one of the few unanimous conclusions is that all of us – from governments and policymakers to NGOs, citizens, and businesses – have a critical role to play.
The recent COP28 Summit has bolstered my sense of collective action. We’ve just endured one of the most challenging years on record, with smoke-filled air turning the skies of Manhattan deep orange, and scenes of destruction causing devastation across Greece, Haiti, and Libya. The effects are being felt ever closer to home, with the UK Health Security Agency recently warning that the climate crisis could cause 10,000 extra UK deaths every year by 2050. As such, milestone targets to triple the use of renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030 are welcome, even if question marks linger over how this will be financed.
The creative solutions we need are already here
But these words must turn into meaningful action. Until then, humanity desperately needs creative, ambitious, and systemic action to tackle the crisis. This is where technology can play a key role. Businesses of all sizes are pooling time, resources, and leadership efforts into exploring digital-first solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Renowned for its rapid pace of innovation and abundant creativity, the technology sector has consistently led the way in championing sustainable development. IoT sensors and blockchain, for example, enable more transparent supply chains in agriculture and reduce carbon footprints in logistics, supporting ESG efforts by ensuring responsible sourcing and reducing environmental impact. Artificial intelligence alone could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 4% by 2030 through enhanced industry transparency, data analytics, and resource efficiency.
Vikram Nair
President, Tech Mahindra.
Despite the progress made by the technology sector, implementing successful ESG programs is not easy. With each passing day, the ESG landscape is growing more complex, given the shifting global goals, increasing regulations, and consistent requests for relevant ESG disclosures. UK’s financial watchdog has urged enterprises that rate other businesses’ sustainability efforts to consider a new voluntary code of conduct. While some organizations face challenges in getting the required start, others tend to delay the process as integrating ESG considerations needs revamping many business operations.
Mobilizing the technology sector
The complexity of the ESG landscape is no excuse for technology firms to delay meaningful action and waiting on the side-lines while complexity continues to increase is not an option. With the sector’s immense influence, resources, and technical capabilities, technology firms have both an obligation and an opportunity to lead the way. Failure to act responsibly risks losing the trust of stakeholders and regulators. Proactive leadership can spur innovation, reinforce social licenses to operate, attract top talent, and unlock efficiencies. Technology leaders must view this complexity as an opportunity for differentiation.
Moreover, the challenge of relevant ESG disclosures underscores the need for global alignment on reporting standards. The current lack of consistency in reporting frameworks allows for a degree of opacity, enabling some organizations to engage in greenwashing. While international bodies may eventually coordinate standards, the tech sector need not wait. Instead, tech businesses should collectively establish and commit to transparent, rigorous, and globally consistent ESG reporting standards.
Technology firms are best positioned to understand appropriate metrics and data collection mechanisms for the sector. By self-regulating and holding each other accountable to centralized standards, they can pre-emptively address rising stakeholder expectations and build trust in a way that is more reflective of their actual impacts. Shared IT infrastructure and data pools could ease adoption burdens for smaller firms. And agreed KPIs and measurement protocols will better highlight leaders and laggards – spurring on competition and a drive to improve.
Establishing aligned ESG reporting is only the first step. Standards must translate into action. Once consistent transparency and accountability mechanisms are in place, firms can be compelled to improve continually. Failures to meet centralized expectations can be exposed, penalized, and deterred. Enhancing standardized KPIs will also progressively expand the scope and rigor expected of tech-led sustainability initiatives.
Technology innovations are acting as a catalyst for the evolution of ESG commitments, moving sustainability from a corporate buzzword to a core business strategy. By embracing these solutions, the future of ESG holds bright promise, provided that comprehensive measures are taken at the right moment. Over recent years, enterprises have become increasingly cognizant of their roles in embracing favorable practices, and investors will continue to place heightened importance on ESG metrics.
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