BOSTON — Microsoft said Friday that it is still working to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into senior business officials’ email accounts in November and are attempting to enter consumer networks using stolen access data.

According to the software giant’s blog and regulatory filing, the hackers from Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service used data gained during the intrusion, which was exposed in mid-January, to compromise some source-code repositories and internal systems.

Microsoft Says It Hasn’t Been Able To Shake Russian State Hackers

A corporate official declined to specify the source code and capabilities the hackers gained to further attack customers and systems. Microsoft claimed Friday that hackers obtained “secrets” from email contacts between the business and certain customers, including cryptographic secrets like passwords, certificates, and authentication keys, and that it was contacting them “to assist in mitigating measures.”

Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a cloud computing business, revealed on January 24 that it was also an SVR hacking victim and had been notified of the breach — by whom it would not say — two weeks earlier, coinciding with the revelation that it had been compromised.

“The threat actor’s ongoing attack is characterized by a sustained, significant commitment of the threat actor’s resources, coordination, and focus,” the company said Friday, adding that it may be utilizing acquired data “to accumulate a picture of areas to attack and enhance its ability to do so.” According to cybersecurity experts, Microsoft’s admission that the SVR hack had not been contained highlights the risks of government and business relying heavily on the Redmond, Washington-based company’s software monoculture — and the fact that so many of its customers are linked via its global cloud network.

Microsoft Says It Hasn’t Been Able To Shake Russian State Hackers

“This has tremendous national security implications,” said Tom Kellermann of the cybersecurity firm Contrast Security. “The Russians can now leverage supply chain attacks against Microsoft’s customers.”

Tenable’s CEO, Amit Yoran, also published a statement expressing shock and dismay. He is among security pros who believe Microsoft is extremely secretive about its vulnerabilities and how it handles intrusions.

“We should all be furious that this keeps happening,” he continued. “These breaches aren’t isolated from each other and Microsoft’s shady security practices and misleading statements purposely obfuscate the whole truth.”

Microsoft said it has yet to establish if the incident will have a material impact on its profitability. It also stated that the intrusion’s persistence “reflects what has become a more broadly unprecedented global threat landscape, especially in terms of sophisticated nation-state attacks.”

The hackers, known as Cozy Bear, are the same ones responsible for the SolarWinds breach.

Microsoft Says It Hasn’t Been Able To Shake Russian State Hackers

When Microsoft first reported the intrusion, it stated that the SVR unit got into its corporate email system and accessed the accounts of certain senior executives and staff from its cybersecurity and legal departments. It did not specify how many accounts were compromised.

At the time, Microsoft stated that it could terminate the hackers’ access to the compromised accounts on or around January 13. But by then, they had certainly established a footing.

It said they gained access via compromising credentials on a “legacy” test account but did not elaborate.

Microsoft’s newest disclosure comes three months after a new Securities and Exchange Commission rule went into effect, requiring publicly traded corporations to disclose breaches that potentially harm their businesses.

SOURCE – (AP)

Nvidia’s market value has reached $2 trillion (£1.58 trillion), marking a new milestone in the chipmaker’s meteoric rise to the ranks of the world’s most valuable corporations.

Shares of the Silicon Valley corporation gained more than 4% in opening trading on Friday before falling slightly.

The gains built on the company’s impressive earnings announcement earlier this week.

AI Chip Firm Nvidia Valued At $2tn

The company is profiting from improvements in artificial intelligence (AI), which has boosted demand for its processors.

The company’s turnover doubled last year to more than $60 billion, and CEO Jensen Huang told investors this week that demand was “surging” worldwide.

The corporation, which became worth $1 trillion less than a year ago, is now the world’s fourth most valuable publicly traded company, trailing Microsoft, Apple, and Saudi Aramco.

AI Chip Firm Nvidia Valued At $2tn

After shares fell from their early Friday highs, the company’s market capitalization ended the day just under $2 trillion.

Nvidia was founded in 1993 and was originally recognized for producing computer processors that processed images, primarily for computer games.

Long before the AI revolution, it began adding capabilities to its chips that it claims to aid in machine learning, which has helped it acquire market dominance.

It is currently regarded as a vital company to monitor how quickly AI-powered technology spreads throughout the commercial world.

The firm’s stock price has more than tripled the previous year, from less than $240 per share to about $800 in midday trading on Friday.

On Thursday, the day after its earnings release, purchasers snapped up shares, boosting its value by $277 billion, the greatest one-day rise in Wall Street history.

He research has also contributed to a larger market rise, appearing to persuade investors that, as Derren Nathan of Hargreaves Lansdown put it, the AI boom is “living up to the hype”.

AI Chip Firm Nvidia Valued At $2tn

“It’s being used in automotive for design, in telecommunications for network planning, and in mainstream companies to figure out and get insights into data that they haven’t been able to get before,” Bob
O’Donnell, a technology analyst based in the United States, told the BBC earlier this week.

“This is now really starting to hit the kinds of companies across the board, not just specialized tech companies and that’s a real tipping point for the industry.”

SOURCE – (BBC)

Walmart is paying $2.3 billion for smart TV maker Vizio to boost its quickly growing advertising business and compete with Amazon.

If the purchase is completed, Walmart will gain access to Vizio’s SmartCast operating system, allowing the retail juggernaut to offer its suppliers the opportunity to display adverts on streaming devices.

Walmart Connect, which provides marketers with access to Walmart’s large consumer base, has helped the company grow its media and advertising business. Walmart reported on Tuesday that its global advertising business increased by nearly 28% to $3.4 billion last year.

The developments follow Amazon’s announcement last month that it will begin charging Prime members $2.99 per month to keep their films and TV series ad-free, in addition to the $14.99 per month or $139 per year Prime price.

What does Walmart stand to gain from a television manufacturer?

Vizio’s SmartCast technology has 18 million active accounts and has increased 400% since 2018. The firms claim that Vizio’s platform has over 500 direct advertisers and that ads now account for most of the company’s gross profit.

In recent years, makers of streaming gear, such as Roku and Vizio, have moved their focus to advertising revenue. Vizio established its Vizio Ads business unit in 2019, claiming to be “one of the few connected TV companies with the device penetration, consumer opt-in, and infrastructure to deliver meaningful scale.”

Walmart saw Vizio’s growing consumer base and grabbed the opportunity to develop its Walmart Connect business.

“We believe the combination of these two businesses would be impactful as we redefine the intersection of retail and entertainment,” said Seth Dallaire, executive vice president and chief revenue officer at Walmart U.S.

Who else is ramping up screen advertising?

Other large streamers, such as Netflix and Disney, have embraced the dual model, allowing them to generate revenue from commercials while simultaneously allowing customers to opt-out for a higher charge.

However, in the ever-changing streaming industry, whether consumers are prepared to pay more to see fewer commercials when they already pay subscription fees, frequently for numerous providers, remains to be seen. Many consumers “cut the cord” and ditched cable TV because they were frustrated with their ever-increasing fees.

How did the companies’ shares fare?

Vizio stock rose about 15% in the afternoon, reaching $10.96 per share.

Walmart’s stock jumped 3.1% to $175.66 per share after exceeding Wall Street’s expectations with its sales and profit on Tuesday.

Roku, one of Vizio’s primary competitors, saw its stock drop 6.4% by midday.

SOURCE – (AP)