by Nvidia was the target of a cyberattack on Friday, according to reports. For over 48 hours, America’s biggest chipmaker revealed a complete shutdown of commercial activities but assured frightened customers that the assault had no impact on their service.
It wasn’t long until a ransomware gang called LAPSUS$ claimed to be responsible for the hacking attack, saying that it had stolen over one trillion bytes and would most likely leak them to the outside world if its demands were not satisfied.
What LAPSUS$ Demanded
LAPSUS$ is requesting that Nvidia eliminate all LHR restrictions on its GPU hash rate, preventing quicker crypto mining operations from taking place on the GPU. Nvidia is also being pressed to make its GPU driver base code open-source, ensuring that it is always available and changeable by anybody who wants to contribute.
Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GPU) was initially intended for gamers. Still, the company has seen an unexpected increase in the number of crypto miners who have purchased its GPU, leading to a chip shortage on the market since 2021. By integrating a mining detection tool that automatically limits mining speed when it finds crypto-mining activity, Nvidia is making an effort to prevent unwelcome use.
If Nvidia does not comply with the hacking group’s $1 million demand, it will reveal some of the chip manufacturer’s most confidential trade secrets, including the base source code. It had issued a request in a telegram message that reads: Friday is the deadline.
LAPSUS$ Tracks
it was calculated that the personal information of 71,000 Nvidia customers and employees has been exposed as of the time of this writing. Although the consequences for the microchip industry are immense, this isn’t the first time LAPSUS$ has dealt with such sensitive companies. In addition to Claro Telecommunications and the Brazilian Ministry of Health, they brought down Impressa, one of Portugal’s biggest media companies.
As the deadline approaches, the crypto world is watching with bated breath to see if Nvidia will adhere to its request. If it is possible to get LAPSUS$, which is commonly thought to have a high interest in cryptocurrency mining, this might significantly boost mining yields; Ethereum miners will benefit from it the most.
