Supermicro aligns with Intel to offer large scale distributed training AI systems to meet needs of deep learning training models

Super Micro Computer is collaborating with Intel on AI solutions that are validated on the Intel Nervana Neural Network Processor for Training (NNP-T). Intel's NNP-T is a purpose-built AI training ASIC supporting the growing compute needs of deep learning training models.

The Intel Nervana NNP-T solves memory constraints and is designed to scale out through systems with racks easier than today's solutions. As part of the validation process, Supermicro integrated 8 NNP-T processors, dual 2nd Generation Intel Xeon scalable processors, up to 6TB DDR4 memory per node supporting both PCIe card and OAM form factors. Supermicro NNP-T systems are expected to be available mid-year 2020.

With high compute utilization and high-efficiency memory architecture for complex deep learning models, the Supermicro NNP-T AI System is built to validate two key real-world considerations: accelerating the time to train ever-complex AI models and doing it within a given power budget. The system enables faster AI model training with images and speech, more efficient gas & oil exploration, more accurate medical image analytics, and faster autonomous driving model generation.

"Supermicro is excited to cooperate with Intel for the Nervana NNP-T platform," said Charles Liang, president, and CEO of Supermicro. "Striking a balance among computing, communication, and memory, the validated NNP-T ASICs on Supermicro systems can train large AI models with near-linear scaling efficiency via intra- and inter-chassis links."

"Supermicro has validated our Deep Learning (DL) solution and is helping us prove the Nervana NNP-T system architecture, including card and server design, interconnect, and rack," said Naveen Rao, corporate vice president and general manager, Artificial Intelligence Products Group, Intel.

Trend Micro reveals that over a dozen obfuscated APT33 botnets have been used for extreme narrow targeting

The threat group regularly referred to as APT33 is known to target the oil and aviation industries aggressively, Trend Micro revealed. This threat group has been reported on consistently for years, but recent findings show that the group has been using about a dozen live Command and Control (C&C) servers for extremely narrow targeting. 

APT33 is a suspected Iranian threat group that has carried out operations since at least 2013. The group has targeted organizations across multiple industries in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea, with a particular interest in the aviation and energy sectors.

The group puts up multiple layers of obfuscation to run these C&C servers in extremely targeted malware campaigns against organizations in the Middle East, the U.S., and Asia.

“We believe these botnets, each comprising a small group of up to a dozen infected computers, are used to gain persistence within the networks of select targets,” Trend Micro wrote in a post this week. 

The malware is rather basic, and has limited capabilities that include downloading and running additional malware. Among active infections in 2019 are two separate locations of a private American company that offers services related to national security, victims connecting from a university and a college in the U.S., a victim most likely related to the U.S. military, and several victims in the Middle East and Asia.

APT33 has also been executing more aggressive attacks over the past few years. For example, for at least two years the group used the private website of a high-ranking European politician (a member of the country’s defense committee) to send spear phishing emails to companies that are part of the supply chain of oil products. Targets included a water facility that is used by the U.S. army for the potable water supply of one of its military bases.

These attacks have likely resulted in concrete infections in the oil industry. For example, in the fall of 2018, Trend Micro observed communications between a U.K.-based oil company with computer servers in the U.K. and India and an APT33 C&C server. 

Another European oil company suffered from an APT33 related malware infection on one of their servers in India for at least three weeks in November and December last year. There were several other companies in oil supply chains that had been compromised in the fall of 2018 as well. These compromises indicate a big risk to companies in the oil industry, as APT33 is known to use destructive malware.