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Time Is Money

Jun 9, 2024 • 7 min read

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CENTCOM Activity
OpenAI Security

Week Recap:

AMD has introduced the MI300X, its latest AI chip, as part of its Instinct Platform. This chip is designed to provide high performance and efficiency for artificial intelligence applications, especially large language models. The MI300X features 192 GB of memory and a memory bandwidth of 5.2 terabytes per second, making it a strong competitor to Nvidia's H100, which has less memory. The goal is to make AI technology more accessible and powerful by offering GPUs that can integrate easily into existing systems.
CrowdStrike Holdings, a leader in cybersecurity solutions, reported strong financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended in April, surpassing market expectations. The company achieved a revenue of $921 million, marking a 34% increase from the same period last year. This performance exceeded both CrowdStrike's guidance range of $902 million to $906 million and the Street consensus estimate of $905 million tracked by FactSet.
Two major London hospital trusts, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, have had to cancel all non-emergency procedures and blood tests due to a serious cyberattack. This attack hit their pathology systems and GP services across South London, disrupting medical services for thousands of patients. The company providing blood tests and other lab services, Synnovis, reported on Monday that it had been attacked by ransomware, a type of malware that locks up systems until a ransom is paid.
BlackRock Inc., Citadel Securities, and other investors are backing a new Texas stock market, challenging the dominance of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Inc. This move signals a potential boost for Texas as it seeks to expand its financial services industry. The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) has raised $120 million and plans to file registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a LinkedIn post by James Lee, the exchange's CEO.
SpaceX's Starship successfully conducted its fourth flight test, aiming to gather crucial data and demonstrate the capabilities of the Starship and Super Heavy systems for future reuse. The test began with a successful launch from Starbase in Texas at 7:50 a.m. CT, where the Super Heavy booster completed its full-duration ascent burn. During the flight, Starship executed a hot-stage separation, where the Super Heavy’s Raptor engines powered down and six second-stage Raptor engines ignited.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has lowered its key interest rate from a record high, reducing the key deposit rate by a quarter-point to 3.75% on Thursday. This decision, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, follows nine months of maintaining the rate at 4%. The ECB made this move because the outlook for inflation has improved. However, President Lagarde made it clear that this does not necessarily mean more rate cuts will follow soon. She stated that future decisions will depend on economic data, and the ECB will evaluate the situation at each meeting rather than committing to a specific plan.
Over the past week, attackers have successfully hijacked several high-profile TikTok accounts of companies and celebrities by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the app's direct messaging feature. Zero-day vulnerabilities are security flaws that lack an official fix or public disclosure. The compromised accounts include those of Sony and CNN, with CNN's account being the first to be attacked. According to Forbes, the exploit allowed attackers to gain control simply by having the target open a malicious message, without requiring any downloads or link clicks. In response, TikTok has taken down the affected accounts to prevent further misuse.
Elon Musk is facing scrutiny for allegedly redirecting Tesla resources to his other ventures, specifically involving high-end H100 GPU clusters from Nvidia. According to CNBC's Lora Kolodny, Tesla had ordered these GPUs, but emails from Nvidia staff indicate that Musk redirected 12,000 GPUs to his social media company, X. This situation has raised questions about Tesla’s current business direction, as Musk has stated that Tesla is transitioning from an electric car company to an AI and robotics firm.

CENTCOM Activity:

In the past 24 hours, Iranian-backed Houthis launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles from their controlled areas in Yemen over the Red Sea. These missiles, aimed at disrupting maritime activities, fortunately did not cause any injuries or damage to U.S., coalition, or commercial ships. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces intervened by successfully destroying four uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and two of these missiles in the Houthi-controlled areas. Additionally, they neutralized another UAS that was launched into the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
These actions highlight CENTCOM’s ongoing efforts to protect vital shipping routes and ensure the safety of maritime operations in the region. In a separate operation, CENTCOM forces destroyed a Houthi patrol boat in the Red Sea. This boat posed a significant threat to the security of international waters. By taking these measures, CENTCOM aims to neutralize imminent threats to U.S. and coalition forces as well as commercial vessels. These operations are crucial for maintaining the safety and security of international waters, protecting freedom of navigation, and preventing disruptions to global trade routes.
Regarding recent rescue operations in Gaza, it has been clarified that the humanitarian pier facility was not used for rescuing hostages. Instead, an area south of the facility was utilized by Israeli forces to safely return the hostages to Israel. The temporary pier on the coast of Gaza is dedicated solely to facilitating the movement of Aid into Gaza. Any claims suggesting that the pier was used for other purposes are false. This facility plays a critical role in providing humanitarian aid to those in need and is separate from any military operations.

OpenAI Security:

OpenAI has shared high-level details about the security architecture of its research supercomputers, which are among the largest AI training systems globally. These supercomputers enable OpenAI to develop industry-leading models in both capability and safety, furthering its mission to ensure advanced AI benefits everyone. The foundation of this mission lies in the robust infrastructure that powers OpenAI's research, and the company prioritizes the security of these systems to protect sensitive model weights and other critical assets.
To support this mission safely, OpenAI has implemented a secure architecture built on Azure, using Kubernetes for orchestration. The security measures include robust identity and access management through Azure Entra ID, role-based access control policies in Kubernetes, and the use of modern VPN technology for secure networking. Sensitive data, such as credentials and service accounts, are protected using key management services and strict access controls. Additionally, OpenAI uses a custom service called AccessManager to enforce least-privilege access strategies, ensuring that access to sensitive resources requires multi-party approval and is time-bound.
To maintain the integrity of its infrastructure, OpenAI employs continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipelines with strict access controls and multi-party approval for code deployment. The research environment is protected through a defense-in-depth approach, including network controls that restrict egress traffic and detective controls to monitor for unauthorized access. OpenAI also conducts regular security assessments, including internal and external penetration testing, and is exploring compliance frameworks to address the unique challenges of securing AI systems. This commitment to security ensures that OpenAI's AI infrastructure remains protected and capable of advancing the field safely.

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