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Orico, in partnership with Western Digital, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Data Matrix Ultra, a new storage solution designed for creative professionals. This system looks well suited to handling high-resolution 4K and 8K video and supports intensive post-production workflows.

The Data Matrix Ultra is designed to evoke the aesthetics of Apple products. It combines fast M.2 SSDs (with speeds up to 3000MB/s) with high-capacity WD Red HDDs, and includes CFexpress Type-B slots capable of speeds up to 1500MB/s, which is fast enough to edit 8K video. 

This storage system comes in a variety of capacities ranging from 5TB to 112TB, with options for future expansion and upgrades to meet growing project demands. It allows for the daisy-chaining of up to five devices, for a potential maximum of 560TB of storage. Data Matrix Ultra supports a variety of RAID configurations - RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD - providing data security through redundancy and backup options.

Already funded

The Data Matrix Ultra also focuses on minimizing operational noise with features such as anti-vibration mounts and magnetic levitation fans. Orico says this will help with a quieter workspace, crucial for creative professionals working in sound-sensitive environments.

For me, the Data Matrix Ultra brings to mind the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 storage solution, one of the fastest and most flexible storage options available which also has an Apple inspired design (it looks not unlike the large Mac Pro). OWC’s solution offers 18TB to 172TB of storage and is priced at $2,479.00. Backing prices for the Data Matrix Ultra start at $699 for a 1 bay 5TB model, a 36% discount off the $1,099 MSRP, rising up to $4,999 for the 112TB 5 bay model, marking a 62% reduction from the eye watering $12,999 MSRP.

Backing crowdfunded products obviously comes with risks. Orico notes “the high price of the Data Matrix mini could limit the number of potential backers, especially in a competitive market where consumers might choose more affordable alternatives”. That said, the Data Matrix Ultra has already found an audience, amassing $46,885 of its $5,000 goal (via 28 backers), with over two weeks remaining in the campaign.

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Cybersecurity researchers from ESET have warned of a recently-discovered vulnerability in the Android version of the popular instant messaging application Telegram.

The vulnerability allowed threat actors to deploy malware on the vulnerable devices, and apparently - it was being actively exploited for weeks.

A threat actor called Ancryno took to a Russian-speaking underground forum in early June 2024, to sell a zero-day exploit for Telegram versions 10.14.4 and older. This drew the attention of ESET’s experts, and when a proof-of-concept (PoC) was published, they picked up the malicious payload, analyzed it, and confirmed that it works.

Fake prompts

The vulnerability allowed threat actors to create malicious .APK files (Android installation packages) which, to the recipient, look like a video message. Since Telegram automatically downloads all multimedia, all the victim needs to do is open up the chat window to receive the payload. 

Users who disabled the automatic download of multimedia files need to tap on the received message once to trigger the download.

This leaves the problem of actually running the file, since the APK still needs to be installed. The hackers partially solved it by displaying a fake prompt that the video needs to be played in an external player. Accepting this prompt triggers another one which says that Telegram is barred from installing APK files. If the victim ignores all of these red flags, they will end up with the installed malware.

Further analyzing the threat actor’s infrastructure, ESET found two malicious payloads hosted online, one that pretends to be Avast Antivirus, and a fake “premium mod” for xHamster (a website with adult content).

The researchers reported their findings to Telegram’s developers, which came back with a patch on July 11. In its writeup, BleepingComputer points that the flaw was running wild for at least five weeks, giving crooks plenty of time to target Telegram users. 

The earliest patched version is v10.14.5. Telegram’s desktop app was never vulnerable.

Via BleepingComputer

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Cybersecurity researchers from Trend Micro recently found a Linux variant of the dreaded Play ransomware strain targeting VMWare ESXi environments.

In a technical breakdown, Trend Micro’s Threat Hunting team said this was the first time Play was seen targeting ESXi environments, and it could be that the criminals are broadening their attacks across the Linux platform, giving them an expanded victim pool and more successful ransom negotiations.

Play was first spotted more than two years ago, and since then it became popular for its double-extortion tactics, evasion techniques, custom-built tools, and a “substantial impact” on companies in Latin America, the researchers explained.

Prolific Puma and Revolver Rabbit

Businesses usually use VMWare’s ESXi instances for virtual machines, where they host critical applications, data, and integrated backup solutions. By targeting these endpoints, Play’s operators could reduce the chances of the victim recovering any encrypted data. Therefore, their negotiation position becomes that much better. Besides going after Linux endpoints, the new variant was also able to successfully evade security detections, Trend Micro added.

Analyzing the infrastructure used for these campaigns, the researchers found a peculiarity - the URL used to host the encryptor is related to a threat actor known as Prolific Puma. This group is known for offering URL-shortening services to criminals, making phishing attacks more convincing, and thus, more disruptive. 

In late 2023, researchers Infoblox discovered a major link-shortening operation in which the criminals would use a registered domain generation algorithm (RDGA) to create domain names in bulk. Then, they would use those domains to provide a link-shortening service to other malicious actors.

Earlier this month, the same company found a threat actor called Revolver Rabbit using RDGAs to register more than 500,000 domains, an effort on which they spent more than a million dollars. The hacker used the RDGA to create command and control (C2) and decoy domains for the XLoader infostealing malware.

Via The Hacker News

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Sony has long been a key player in digital storage technologies. The company introduced the CD in 1982, which it developed in collaboration with Philips, revolutionizing how data and music were stored and accessed. In 1995, Sony launched the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a joint effort with Philips, Toshiba, and Panasonic. This was followed by the Blu-ray Disc in 2006, which offered even greater storage capacity suitable for high-definition video and data.

In 2014, the company, in partnership with Panasonic, came up with a new optical storage format for professionals, the Archival Disc, which could store a whopping 300GB of data.

The writing has been on the wall for Sony’s older optical solutions for a while however, and the company has said it plans to phase out its recordable disc production, which includes Blu-ays, having previously announced plans to cut a significant number of jobs at its optical media plant in northeast Japan.

Alternatives step up

"The growth of the cold storage market has not reached our expectations, and the performance of the storage media business as a whole continues to be in the red," a Sony Group spokesperson said. "We have determined that it is necessary to review the business structure to improve profitability."

Another casualty of this move will be Sony’s Optical Disc Archive Cartridges. Announced in 2020, Generation 3 of the product has a 5.5TB capacity courtesy of a double-sided disc with triple layers per side for write-once recording. This latest incarnation (and last, as it happens) offers a much greater capacity than Generation 2, released in 2016 (3.3TB), and the initial release, introduced in 2013, which came in various capacities up to 1.5TB.

Sony’s move will mostly impact consumers as the company says it will continue to sell B2B products from existing supplies. It has produced enough to meet demand for quite some time, but if you rely on optical storage you might want to stock up now. 

A number of tech companies are working on alternative forms of storage that could fill the void that optical technology’s decline will leave. These include ceramic, Silica (quartz glass), and DNA-based storage.

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OpenAI has added more business-focused controls to its Enterprise subscription for ChatGPT in a bid to help tackle companies’ biggest concerns.

The updates focus on compliance, data security and scaling access to generative AI while also tackling the broader issue of meeting various stringent requirements across regulated industries globally.

Key to the update is the Enterprise Compliance API, which helps ensure alignment with standards like GDPR, HIPAA and FINRA.

ChatGPT just got even more Enterprise controls

The Enterprise Compliance API provides users with a detailed and time-stamped record of all interactions, including conversations, uploaded files and metadata, which can be used for auditing.

OpenAI also introduced third-party integrations with Forcepoint, Global Relay, Microsoft Purview, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks, Relativity, Smarsh and Zscaler, which can be used for things like data archiving, audit trails, redaction, retention and policy enforcement. The San Francisco-based organization committed to working with more partners in the future, hinting at the expansion of its support for third parties.

As well as compliance features, OpenAI will also roll out an identity management system to make managing users easier for IT admins. The System for Cross-domain Identity Management, currently in beta, will work with “most company directories,” including Okta Workforce, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, and Ping.

The final control upgrade for ChatGPT Enterprise customers is more granular control over custom GPTs. Admins will now be able to create lists of approved domains, rather than completely allow or block the use of GPTs.

In an expression of commitment to privacy and security, the company affirmed that no customer data or metadata is used for training models, and that data is encrypted both at rest and in transit.

The business-focused subscription is now believed to boast more than 600,000 users, with cheaper subscriptions for SMBs and consumers also available for monthly fees.

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Choosing the best photos for your dating profile can be tough, so Tinder created a virtual curator to help you out. The artificial intelligence-powered Photo Selector will analyze your shortlist of potential photos directly from your phone and suggest those its model predicts would present you at your best.

To use the feature, a Tinder user takes a selfie for the AI to know what they look like, then permits the app to look at photos on their phone. The AI model picks out images for the user to review and decide whether to add them to their profile. Photo Selector is coming first to Tinder users in the U.S. this month, with international rollouts later this summer.

Tinder hopes the AI tool will smooth the path for setting up a dating profile. According to its own Online Opinion survey of young single people, 52% struggle to pick a profile image for dating apps, and single people under 25 spend 33 minutes on average picking a photo for their dating app profile. Perhaps it’s unsurprising then that 68% of them welcome the idea of AI assistance in picking their photos.

Though Tinder doesn’t outright say so, the study did suggest straight men in particular need the help. Straight single women find profiles with at least four images highlighting a man’s personality more attractive, and more than one face photo ups a guy’s chance of matching by 71%. 

“We’re proud to be the first dating app to roll out an AI tool that can make the profile-building experience significantly easier -- an area we know is one of the hardest parts of dating,” Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno said in a statement. “As the category leader, we’re pushing ourselves to define the industry’s best use cases for meaningful consumer AI integrations,” 

Discreet AI

Tinder didn’t make much of any privacy issues with regard to the new feature, even though access and use of personal photos with AI models may make some nervous. Users might inadvertently expose sensitive or private images by granting the app access to their camera rolls. The company has data protection policies and security measures in place, but when it comes to something as intimate as photos for dating apps, it’s easy to imagine some hesitating without enough transparency and trust regarding how the images are used, stored, and protected.

That’s on top of the facial recognition element. While it is necessary to curate the photos successfully, the biometric data involved is arguably even more sensitive. Tinder may have to make an extra effort to assure users their data is anonymized when the AI processes it and that it’s not shared with third parties. Still, as AI assistants and related tools become more ubiquitous, ones that help people’s online profiles pop, whether on dating apps or anywhere else, will likely become very common.

“As demonstrated by our Photo Selector feature, we’re developing AI tech to assist you in making decisions, not to make them for you,” Iosotaluno said.

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Back in 2021, Samsung announced the industry’s first High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) based DDR5 memory, the use of which doubled the speed of DDR4 while reducing energy use by 13%, with Samsung’s DDR5 stacking eight layers of 16Gb DRAM chips to offer a whopping 512GB capacity.

Fast forward to 2024, and at Computex, ServeTheHome came across the Gigabyte R283-ZK0 motherboard, shown above. Integrating the maximum number of DIMM slots into servers, specifically those using modern configurations with 12 DDR5 channels per CPU socket and two DIMMs per channel (totaling 24 DIMMs per socket), presents significant challenges in terms of both ensuring the DIMMs function correctly together and managing the physical space required to fit all these components inside the server chassis. This is a problem the Gigabyte R283-ZK0 motherboard skillfully addresses.

This powerhouse is not just another server board, it packs in 48 artfully arranged DDR5 memory slots, allowing for up to 24TB of RAM when equipped with Samsung's 512GB DDR5 modules.

Twisted slots

From the outside, the R283-ZK0 resembles a typical 2U server with its 12x 2.5-inch hot-swap NVMe/SATA/SAS drive bays and a large fan wall, but the magic is revealed once you remove the lid. Inside, the server reveals a CPU slot positioned at the back, just in front of some PCIe risers. But the real marvel is above the system where the motherboard stretches out with an impressive array of 24 DDR5 RDIMM slots per CPU - totaling 48 slots in a dual second-gen AMD EPYC 9004 series setup.

As ServeTheHome’s Cliff Robinson says, "To fit this many DIMMs, the CPUs cannot be aligned next to one another. Instead, there are staggered sets of 6-2-4-4-2-2-4 DIMM slots. The slots are twisted on the motherboard at an angle to allow for some overlap of the slots and sockets." It's an impressive piece of engineering for sure.

Other features of the Gigabyte R283-ZK0 include dual 10Gb/s LAN ports (Intel X710-AT2), one PCIe Gen5 x16 FHFL (full-height, full-length) slot, and one OCP 3.0 Gen5 x16 LAN mezzanine slot for use with network cards.

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