On 2/23 NVIDIA (NVDA) discovered a flaw that could potentially allow entry into the company’s proprietary servers and began examining the issue, but three days later it was discovered that the system had been hacked by a South American group known as LAPSUS$.  NVIDIA originally thought they had neutralized the hackers and the data that had been stolen however the hackers began posting some of the information collected to prove that they still had the information.  While over 1TB was stolen that included employee information, the most important data included in the hack was details relating to NIDIA’s LHR (Light Hash Rate) system that limits the performance of NVIIDIA’s graphic card processors. 
“Why would a company known for their high processing power graphics cards want to limit their performance?, you ask, however the answer is quite simple, they don’t want their graphics cards to be used to mine cryptocurrencies, specifically Etherium mining.  The LHR system can identify when it is being used for crypto-mining and lowers the maximum hash rate of the card while the power consumption remains the same.  This makes mining less profitable and discourages miners from purchasing said graphics card for their activities.  “Why would a company not want to sell graphics cards?” you ask, but its not that they don’t want to sell cards, it is who they want to sell them to, and the answer to that question is gamers.
As we have previously noted graphics cards are in short supply and prices have risen as cryptocurrency miners soak up whatever stock is available with little regard for price as their cost is spread across a long production period.  That said, operational costs are a very sensitive subject for miners as mining is a very power intensive process, making even small changes in ongoing operating costs the difference between mining profitably or losing money.  By limiting card performance for miners but not for gamers NVIDIA expects more cards to fall into the hands of its traditional buyers, the gaming community, who have been starved for product or priced out of the market.  When LHR was first introduced it took only a few days for the code to be broken by miners but subsequent versions have been more closely tied to hardware and have continued to work against mining operations, but part of what was stolen from NVIDIA by LAPSUS$ was confidential data concerning LHS technology and the hackers are asking for $1m (in cryptocurrency) from the company or will release the confidential information concerning LHR to the highest bidder.
Fears that the hack was part of Russia’s plans for the attack on Ukraine due to its timing were erased when the hacking organization stated that they have absolutely no political affiliation (what else would a politically aligned hacker say?) and NVIDIA says the hack would have no effect on its business but given the amount of data stolen, including source code, we take both what the hacker’s said and what the company said with an ample grain of salt.  As the company has not responded to the hacker’s request for payment and the US government has made it clear that US companies should not negotiate with ransomware requests, we expect more data to be leaked and to eventually see more basic ways to defeat NVIDIAs LHR system posted.  We note that competitor AMD (AMD) does not limit GPU performance for cryptocurrency mining but under new Etherium mining rules likely to be implemented in June, Etherium mining will have less of an environmental impact but will also generate between 20% and 35% less revenue for miners, so the whole NVIDIA hack and LHR controversy could become a moot point.  Again, anyone for the gold standard?  It was so much easier to understand.

​When Dustin Hoffman, as Ratso Rizzo, slammed his hand on a taxi and yelled, “I’m Walkin Here!” while crossing against the light, he exemplified the attitude of New Yorkers in the late 1960’s, who felt the streets of the city were just as much theirs as for cars and trucks.  Crossing the street was an anywhere affair and even a split second space between moving vehicles was an opportunity to save a few seconds by crossing in the middle of the block.  While that attitude has never fully changed, the issue has transformed into a more rational one, where crossing at the corner seems to have finally caught on, but the smartphone has made even that more rational concept as or more deadly than before.  It is not uncommon to see those socially self-absorbed wanderers step off the curb into ongoing traffic without lifting their eyes off of their smartphone, often with AirPods or other devices stuck in their ears, lessening the impact of horns or traffic noises that might alert them to an oncoming vehicle. 
Trying to change the habits of those addicted to Twitter (TWTR) or Facebook (FB) is a moot point, so LG Electronics (066570.KS) has come up with a solution, an app called ‘Soft V2X’ that has now been modified from its original terminal based application to a smartphone app, and once the app is loaded, those city ramblers will be protected from the hordes of vehicles whose job is to get across an intersection just as the light changes.  The application transmits the users current location, direction, and speed to the real-time cloud, where the server side application selects information about vehicle movement, traffic signals, and other relevant metrics, and evaluates the risk of collision.  If that risk level reaches a set point, it warns the user with an overlay warning message, sound, and vibration.
The app is also able to detect the potential for collision between vehicles or pedestrians who do not have the app by accessing CCTV information and using AI to predict possible issues by making its own estimates of speed, direction, etc., and the system is also able to access RSU (Intelligent Roadside Units) information that is being added to traffic lights, light poles, and highway markers, in ‘smart’ cities, and combines camera and LIDAR information, making it an effective solution for traffic and pedestrian monitoring during adverse weather conditions or at night.  The LGE system also has a ‘child’ mode, which alerts the user when there are children pedestrians nearby or when the user is entering a school zone or near a stopped school bus.
While V2X was originally designed as a control system for vehicles, the adaptation to mobile devices opens that up to billions of potential users, and while LG Electronics does not have an actual commercialization date yet, the thought is that they will give the app to users for free in order to generate as much data as possible, with some tie-in to the proliferation of RSUs in cars and roadside that can communicate with V2X systems.  Expectations for V2X adoptions in vehicles differ greatly, but estimates for 2026 seem to be for ~40m vehicles equipped with some form of V2X, and with 5G slowly becoming available, the ability of those systems to communicate with little latency are becoming a reality.  No longer will you have to say, “I’m walkin’ here!” as your smartphone will say it for you and slow the car just enough to allow you to not miss that post on last night’s “The Bachelor” wardrobe mishap by being knocked over by a fast moving side view mirror.
We note that in order for a V2X-like system to operate effectively it must be in widespread use, which means it needs to be funded by both the government and private sources, and there needs to be an international strategy toward spectrum assigned to such systems.    The FCC has recently began to open the 5.9GHz band to V2X, which is a first step, but that needs to be globalized or the cost of implementation will remain burdensome.  As to the need for widespread use being a limiting factor, the example is, if 10% of cars are using the system, the chance of two equipped with V2X meeting would be ~1%.  At 25% the chance would be 6.25%, and if 50% of cars were equipped, the chance would be 25%.  Once the rate was above 70%, the chance of two cars with the system meeting would be over 50% (RATE2), so as is typical of many new CE product technologies, we have a chicken and egg scenario, with standards, cost, and funding the mitigating factors, although here, what could be more important than saving a life or getting the latest info on those 4” Aquazzura heels that just went on sale on ShopStyle (4755.JP)?