Hackers demanding million-dollar prize for leaked Nvidia GPU mining bypass

Date:
Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:18:35 +0000

Description:
Hackers from LAPSUS$ claim to have a tool that unlocks 100% of Nvidia GPU
hash power.

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The hackers behind the Nvidia cyberattack have slapped a $1million price tag on an alleged cryptomining limiter tool.

Among the terabyte of sensitive data stolen from the computing giant by LAPSUS$ was information that could help some Ethereum miners double their productivity.

Ethereum, the worlds second-biggest blockchain network, operates on the Proof-of-Work concept, the same as Bitcoin . In laymans terms, that means to obtain the Ether currency, one needs to mine, or have a computer do some cryptographic heavy lifting. Thats why state-of-the-art GPU units, such as
the ones Nvidia has on offer, have been selling out like crazy, as they provide the best ROI. TechRadar needs you!

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To discourage Bitcoin miners from swallowing up all of the supply, and to allow other users to get a chance of buying one of the newer units, Nvidia
was forced to limit the hash rate on their devices, essentially making it unprofitable for miners to go for these GPUs.

Allegedly, the RTX 3000 GPU can only work with some 50% capacity, for
Ethereum mining.

Now, LAPSUS$ says that it has built a tool that can bypass Nvidias Lite Hash Rate limiter without flashing or updating the firmware on the device.

Without flashing = big money for any miner developer, the group said earlier this week. Read more

Good news for gamers, the upcoming RTX 3050 card looks terrible for

Ethereum mining

Beware - that Nvidia RTX LHR Mining Unlocker is actually malware

Yet another major antivirus is now bundled with a cryptominer

However there is more than one reason why anyone considering obtaining this tool should think twice. First, theres no guarantee that it actually works,
as LAPSUS$ did not provide a proof of concept, or demo, to show the tool in practice.

Second, it could very well be a scam, or a way to distribute malware . It wouldnt be the first time people claimed to have cracked the hash rate limiter, only to be exposed as frauds.

Third, the Ethereum network is phasing out Proof-of-Work and shifting towards Proof-of-Stake, which would completely eliminate the need for any mining on endpoints , and thus, the need for any GPUs.

While its hard to determine the timeframe of the migration, it does raise the question of the profitability of buying the tool for $1 million. Here's our list of the best firewalls today

Via: PC Mag



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/hackers-demanding-million-dollar-prize-for-leak ed-nvidia-gpu-mining-bypass/


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