Tag: servers

News

Apple to Power AI Features With M2 Ultra Servers

Post author By miranda cosgrove
Post date May 9, 2024
No Comments on Apple to Power AI Features With M2 Ultra Servers

[ad_1]

Apple plans to power some of its upcoming iOS 18 features with data centers that use servers equipped with Apple silicon chips, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

iCloud General Feature
M2 Ultra chips will be behind some of the most advanced AI tasks that are planned for this year and beyond. Apple reportedly accelerated its server building plans in response to the popularity of ChatGPT and other AI products, and future servers could use next-generation M4 chips.

While some tasks will be done on-device, more intensive tasks like generating images and summarizing articles will require cloud connectivity. A more powerful version of Siri would also need cloud-based servers. Privacy has long been a concern of Apple’s, but the team working on servers says that Apple chips will inherently protect user privacy.

Gurman previously claimed that all of the coming ‌iOS 18‌ features would run on-device, but it sounds like some capabilities coming this year will in fact use cloud servers. Apple plans to use its own servers for now, but in the future, it may also rely on servers from other companies.

Apple Reportedly Building M2 Ultra and M4-Powered AI Servers

Post author By miranda cosgrove
Post date May 6, 2024
No Comments on Apple Reportedly Building M2 Ultra and M4-Powered AI Servers

[ad_1]

Apple has started building its own AI servers that use the M2 Ultra chip, Haitong analyst Jeff Pu reports.

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri
Pu provided the analysis based on supply chain checks in a new note to investors seen by MacRumors. Foxconn is said to currently be assembling Apple AI servers that contain the ‌M2‌ Ultra, with plans to assemble AI servers powered by the M4 chip in late 2025. Last month, a reputable source on Weibo said that Apple was working on processors for its own AI servers made with TSMC’s 3nm process, targeting mass production by the second half of 2025, which may line up with this report about M4-powered AI servers.

Apple’s decision to build its own AI server is reflective of the company’s ongoing strategy to vertically integrate its supply chain. Apple will likely use its own chips to enhance the performance of its data centers and future AI tools that rely on the cloud.

While Apple is rumored to be prioritizing on-device processing for many of its upcoming AI tools, it is inevitable that some operations will have to occur in the cloud. By the time M4-based servers could be operational in data centers, Apple’s new AI strategy should be well underway.

In line with broader industry expectations, Pu also expects Apple to announce on-device AI features at WWDC in June, such as audio recording summarization, photo and video editing, and live translation. While the iPhone 16 lineup will tout a range of AI features, 2025’s iPhone 17 models will apparently be more focused AI devices.

Apple is reportedly developing its own AI servers — could it be gearing up to take on Nvidia and AMD?

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date April 24, 2024
No Comments on Apple is reportedly developing its own AI servers — could it be gearing up to take on Nvidia and AMD?

[ad_1]

Apple may again be partnering with silicon chip manufacturer TSMC to produce its own AI server processor, according to a leak from Chinese social network Weibo.

Yes, news of Apple’s next step into the world of artificial intelligence tools is unironically brought to you by, MacRumors reports, “the Weibo user known as ‘Phone Chip Expert’”, who suggests that the processor will be produced using TSMC’s state of the art 3 nanometer node.

As MacRumors points out, the Weibo user known as Phone Chip Expert has form, having correctly identified ahead of formal announcements that the iPhone 7 would be water resistant and that the A16 Bionic chip would be exclusive to the iPhone 14’s Pro variant.

Apple AI progress

The Weibo user known as Phone Chip Expert may well be about to strike again with their clairvoyant powers, but it’s unclear as to exactly when Apple would formally announce such an AI processor, let alone launch it commercially.

In an increasingly AI-crazed world driven by data centers, it doesn’t surprise us that Apple are striving to be self-sufficient in its cloud computing processes.

Apple is a behemoth large enough to run its own data centers, and as generative AI tools, such as Apple’s own upcoming on-device large language model (LLM), increasingly trickle down to B2B and consumer audiences, it may as well exert as much control and oversight as possible over how that processing is done.

It’s clear that Apple have designs in the ‘AI space’ (blech), and supposedly even have credible ideas about it might improve our lives, but neither we, you, or the Weibo user known as Phone Chip Expert will truly know what those are until, probably, the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

Apple Reportedly Developing Its Own Custom Silicon for AI Servers

Post author By miranda cosgrove
Post date April 23, 2024
No Comments on Apple Reportedly Developing Its Own Custom Silicon for AI Servers

[ad_1]

Apple is said to be developing its own AI server processor using TSMC’s 3nm process, targeting mass production by the second half of 2025.

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri 1
According to a post by the Weibo user known as “Phone Chip Expert,” Apple has ambitious plans to design its own artificial intelligence server processor. The user, who claims to have 25 years of experience in the integrated circuit industry, including work on Intel’s Pentium processors, suggests this processor will be manufactured using TSMC’s ‌3nm‌ node.

TSMC is a vital partner for Apple, manufacturing all of its custom silicon chips. The chipmaker’s ‌3nm‌ technology is one of the most advanced semiconductor processes available, offering significant improvements in performance and energy efficiency over the previous 5nm and 7nm nodes.

Apple’s purported move toward developing a specialist AI server processor is reflective of the company’s ongoing strategy to vertically integrate its supply chain. By designing its own server chips, Apple can tailor hardware specifically to its software needs, potentially leading to more powerful and efficient technologies.

Apple could use its own AI processors to enhance the performance of its data centers and future AI tools that rely on the cloud. While Apple is rumored to be prioritizing on-device processing for many of its upcoming AI tools, it is inevitable that some operations will have to occur in the cloud. By the time the custom processor could be integrated into operational servers in late 2025, Apple’s new AI strategy should be well underway.

The Weibo user has a number of accurate previous claims, including that the iPhone 7 would be water-resistant and that the standard iPhone 14 models would continue using the A15 Bionic chip, with the more advanced A16 chip being exclusive to the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro models. These predictions were later corroborated by multiple credible sources and proved correct upon the products’ release.

Apple’s First AI Features in iOS 18 Reportedly Won’t Use Cloud Servers

Post author By miranda cosgrove
Post date April 14, 2024
No Comments on Apple’s First AI Features in iOS 18 Reportedly Won’t Use Cloud Servers

[ad_1]

Apple’s first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature
“As the world awaits Apple’s big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device,” said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. “That means there’s no cloud processing component to the company’s large language model, the software that powers the new capabilities.”

Apple will probably still offer some cloud-based AI features powered by Google’s Gemini or another provider, according to Gurman. Apple has reportedly held discussions with companies such as Google, OpenAI, and China’s Baidu about potential generative AI partnerships. iOS 18 is not expected to include Apple’s own ChatGPT-like chatbot, but it is unclear if Gemini or other chatbot will be directly integrated into iOS 18.

It is possible that Apple could offer some of its own cloud-based generative AI features in the future, as Apple supply chain analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu have said that the company is actively purchasing AI servers.

iOS 18 is rumored to have new generative AI features for the iPhone’s Spotlight search tool, Siri, Safari, Shortcuts, Apple Music, Messages, Health, Numbers, Pages, Keynote, and more. Gurman previously reported that generative AI will improve Siri’s ability to answer more complex questions, and allow the Messages app to auto-complete sentences.

Apple is expected to unveil iOS 18 and other software updates at its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 10 through June 14.

BMC flaw left unchecked for 6 years hits Intel and Lenovo servers

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date April 12, 2024
No Comments on BMC flaw left unchecked for 6 years hits Intel and Lenovo servers

[ad_1]

The lack of communication that happened six years ago resulted in thousands of devices being vulnerable to a remotely exploitable heap out-of-bounds (OOB) read vulnerability – today. Among the vulnerable devices are Intel and Lenovo servers.

Here is what happened: Six years ago, the maintainers of Lighttpd discovered the above-mentioned flaw, which could allow threat actors to exfiltrate process memory addresses. That, in turn, could have been used to work around protection mechanisms.

The security team patched the flaw in August 2018, in version 1.4.51, but they didn’t assign a CVE. Lighttpd is an open-source web server optimized for speed-critical environments.

Thousands of vulnerable devices

As the CVE wasn’t assigned, the developers of AMI MegaRAC Baseboard Management Controllers (BMC) missed the update and did not integrate it into their product, BleepingComputer reports. BMCs are microcontrollers found on motherboards built for servers, data centers, cloud environments, and similar. They are designed for remote management, rebooting, monitoring, and firmware.

Consequently, the vulnerability was passed down the supply chain to system vendors and their customers.

Six years later, during a BMC scan, security researchers Binarly stumbled upon the vulnerability. The company says that multiple products, including some from Intel, Lenovo, and Supermicro, are all vulnerable.

“Based on our data, nearly 2000+ devices are impacted in the field. In reality, this number is even bigger,” the researchers told BleepingComputer.

Depending on the vendors and the devices, the vulnerability was given three separate identifiers: BRLY-2024-002, BRLY-2024-003, and BRLY-2024-004.

While Binarly claims that some of the vulnerable systems were released as recently as late February last year, both Intel and Lenovo said the impacted models reached end-of-life and as such aren’t recommended for use anyway. They will never receive further patches to address the problem, and will remain vulnerable until they are replaced with newer, supported systems.

Linux servers targeted by dangerous espionage malware as Windows threat makes the jump

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date April 1, 2024
No Comments on Linux servers targeted by dangerous espionage malware as Windows threat makes the jump

[ad_1]

A dangerous espionage malware, previously only used against Windows devices, is increasingly being observed on Linux machines, too, experts have warned.

Following earlier reports by ESET and Trend Micro, Kaspersky is now warning of the Dinodas Remote Access Trojan (RAT), signaling the rising popularity of the malware.

Kaspersky claims the backdoor is “fully functional, granting the operator complete control over the infected machine, enabling data exfiltration and espionage”. DinodasRAT is designed to monitor, control, and steal data from target endpoints. Besides stealing data, it can run processes, create a remote shell for direct command, or file execution, update and upgrade itself, uninstall itself and delete all traces of its existence.

XDealer and DinodasRAT

Older reports indicate that DinodasRAT is a Linux version of a known Windows RAT dubbed XDealer. Earlier in March, Trend Micro observed the Chinese APT group known as “Earth Krahang” using XDealer against both Windows and Linux systems belonging to “governments worldwide”.

The researchers did not detail how the attackers managed to drop the malware onto target endpoints, but did stress that since October 2023, the targets were mostly located in China, Taiwan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

Today, many nation-states are engaged in cyber-warfare, disrupting operations and stealing sensitive data from their adversaries. Besides China, there are notable threats coming from North Korea (Lazarus Group, for example), Russia (Fancy Bear), Iran (Scarred Manticore), and others.

With war raging in Ukraine, China eyeing Taiwan, Israel engaged against Hamas, as well as other potential hotpots (the issues of migration in both Europe and the States, U.S. presidential elections), it is no wonder that not a day goes by without news of state-sponsored hacking groups engaging in cyber-espionage.

The rising popularity of DinodasRAT only demonstrates the increasing use of Linux-powered devices in government agencies around the world.

Via BleepingComputer

Ray framework flaw exploited for hackers to breach servers

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date March 28, 2024
No Comments on Ray framework flaw exploited for hackers to breach servers

[ad_1]

The Ray framework, an open source tool for AI and Python workload scaling, is vulnerable to half a dozen flaws that allow hackers to hijack the devices and steal sensitive data.

This is according to cybersecurity researchers from Oligo, who published their findings on a new hacking campaign they dubbed “ShadowRay”.

Apparently active since early September 2023, ShadowRay’s operators abused five distinct Ray vulnerabilities to target firms in education, cryptocurrency, biopharma, and other verticals.

“Shadow vulnerability”

Four of the vulnerabilities are tracked as CVE-2023-6019, CVE-2023-6020, CVE-2023-6021, and CVE-2023-48023, and Anyscale, Ray’s developer, fixed them. The fifth one, deemed a critical remote code execution (RCE) flaw by researchers, and tracked as CVE-2023-48022, was not fixed.

Anyscale argues that this was not a bug, but a feature: “The remaining CVE (CVE-2023-48022) – that Ray does not have authentication built in – is a long-standing design decision based on how Ray’s security boundaries are drawn and consistent with Ray deployment best practices, though we intend to offer authentication in a future version as part of a defense-in-depth strategy,” it said.

As per the developers, this RCE flaw can only be abused in deployments that go against Anyscale’s recommendations and don’t limit Ray’s use to a strictly controlled network environment.

Oligo, on the other hand, says that by disputing the CVE, Anyscale is leaving many developers in the dark on the potential holes. “We have observed instances of CVE-2023-48022 being actively exploited in the wild, making the disputed CVE a “shadow vulnerability”—a CVE that doesn’t show up in static scans but can still lead to breaches and significant losses.”

The researchers said they observed “hundreds” of publicly exposed Ray servers, compromised via this vulnerability. As a result, threat actors were stealing sensitive data such as AI models, production database credentials, and more. In some instances they were even installing cryptominers.

Via BleepingComputer

Apple Announces New iPad Pro With M4 Chip, OLED Display, and More

Apple Event Live Blog: New iPad Pro, iPad Air, and More

Apple Says iOS 17.5 Coming ‘Soon’ With These New Features for iPhones

Apple Announces Redesigned Magic Keyboard for New iPad Pro Starting at $299

Everything Announced at Today’s Apple Event

‘iPhone 17 Slim’ With Smaller Display Rumored to Launch Next Year

Apple Announces New M2 iPad Air Models in 11-Inch and 13-Inch Sizes From $599

iOS 18 Rumored to Add New Features to These 16 Apps on Your iPhone

Report: Five Things Apple Won’t Announce at Its Event Next Week

Top Stories: Apple Event Preview, iPad Pro With M4 Chip Rumor, New Beats Headphones, and More

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

PlayStation and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store [Updated]

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Apple Vision Pro Customer Interest Dying Down at Some Retail Stores

Top Stories: Nintendo Emulators on App Store, Two New iOS 17 Features, and More

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

iPhone 16 Plus Rumored to Come in These 7 Colors

Macs to Get AI-Focused M4 Chips Starting in Late 2024

Top Stories: M4 Mac Roadmap Leaked, New iPads in Second Week of May, and More

Best Buy Opens Up Sitewide Sale With Record Low Prices on M3 MacBook Air, iPad, and Much More

Popular Stories

Popular Stories

Popular Stories

Popular Stories