Experts warn hackers could shut down entire power grids by hijacking cloud accounts


Whenever an AI data center thinks really, really hard, it can increase its power consumption so much to trigger disruptions and possibly even blackouts and gear malfunctions. So, is it possible for a malicious actor to trigger this scenario deliberately, in order to cause physical harm?

Multiple researchers from the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, wrote a research paper titled “Bit2Watt: A Cyber-Physical Vulnerability Exploiting GPU Workloads Across Power and Computing Infrastructures.”

In it, they claim that a malicious cloud tenant is, in theory, capable of launching GPU workloads so intensive that they cause physical damage.

Read more…
Source:  TechRadar News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • RansomEXX Trojan attacks Linux systems

    November 6, 2020

    Kaspersky researchers have recently discovered a new file-encrypting Trojan built as an ELF executable and intended to encrypt data on machines controlled by Linux-based operating systems. After the initial analysis we noticed similarities in the code of the Trojan, the text of the ransom notes and the general approach to extortion, which suggested that we had ...

  • Apple Patches Bugs Tied to Previously Identified Zero-Days

    November 6, 2020

    Apple has patched three previously identified zero-day vulnerabilities in its iPhone, iPod and iPad devices potentially related to a spate of related flaws recently discovered by the Google Project Zero team that also affect Google Chrome and Windows. Apple this week released iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, which patch a total of 24 vulnerabilities—including the three ...

  • Operation North Star: Behind The Scenes

    November 5, 2020

    It is rare to be provided an inside view on how major cyber espionage campaigns are conducted within the digital realm. The only transparency afforded is a limited view of victims, a malware sample, and perhaps the IP addresses of historical command and control (C2) infrastructure. The Operation North Star campaign we detailed earlier this year ...

  • Italian beverage vendor Campari knocked offline after ransomware attack

    November 5, 2020

    Campari Group, the famed Italian beverage vendor behind brands like Campari, Cinzano, and Appleton, has been hit by a ransomware attack and has taken down a large part of its IT network. The attack took place last Sunday, on November 1, and has been linked to the RagnarLocker ransomware gang, according to a copy of the ...

  • Brazil’s court system under massive RansomExx ransomware attack

    November 5, 2020

    Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice was hit by a ransomware attack on Tuesday during judgment sessions that were taking place over video conference. “The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) announces that the court’s information technology network suffered a hacker attack on Tuesday (3), during the afternoon, when the six group classes’ judgment sessions took place,” STJ ...

  • Cisco Zero-Day in AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Remains Unpatched

    November 5, 2020

    Cisco has disclosed a zero-day vulnerability – for which there is not yet a patch – in the Windows, macOS and Linux versions of its AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software. While Cisco said it is not aware of any exploits in the wild for the vulnerability, it said Proof-of-Concept (PoC) exploit code has been released, opening ...