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A cybercrime group that has previously struck Docker and Kubernetes cloud environments has evolved to repurpose genuine cloud monitoring tools as a backdoor to carry out malicious attacks, according to new research.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time attackers have been caught using legitimate third party software to target cloud infrastructure," Israeli cybersecurity firm Intezer said in a Tuesday analysis.

Using software called Weave Scope, which is used as a visualization and monitoring tool for Docker and Kubernetes services, the TeamTNT threat actor not only mapped the cloud environment of their victims but also executed system commands without having to deploy malicious code on the target server explicitly.

Then last month, the crypto-mining gang updated their modus operandi to exfiltrate Amazon Web Services (AWS) logins by scanning the infected Docker and Kubernetes systems for sensitive credential information stored in AWS credentials and config files.

While their method of gaining initial foothold hasn't changed, what has been tweaked is the mode of gaining control over the infected host's infrastructure itself.

Although the ultimate goal of TeamTNT appears to be generating cash via cryptocurrency mining, numerous groups that have resorted to deploying cryptojacking worms are successful at compromising enterprise systems in part because of exposed API endpoints, making them an attractive target for cybercriminals.

It's recommended that Docker API endpoints are access restricted to prevent adversaries from taking control over the servers.

"Weave Scope uses default port 4040 to make the dashboard accessible and anyone with access to the network can view the dashboard. Similar to the Docker API port, this port should be closed or restricted by the firewall," the cybersecurity firm said.

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Cybercriminals Are Using Legit Cloud Monitoring Tools As Backdoor - The Hacker News

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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inspur Information, a leading provider of data center infrastructure products and solutions, and Nutanix, a leader in hyperconverged solutions, have jointly unveiled four inMerge HCI systems for emerging applications like AI, multi-cloud, and edge computing. With these diverse data center solution offerings, enterprises could dramatically speed up digital transformation.

The four HCI systems are built on Inspur's NF5280M5 server and i24 multi-node server, with targeted optimization of density, storage, and heterogeneous computing. They provide data center users with open, flexible, and powerful HCI solutions.

According to Gartner, the reach of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) is extending beyond small and medium-sized businesses to the data centers of large enterprises; the application scenarios are expanding from virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), server consolidation, and remote/branch offices to full-stack scenarios that include software-defined data centers, multi-cloud management and other critical workloads. It is estimated that 70 percent of enterprises will be running some form of HCI by 2023.

Hyperconverged cloud-native architecture features short deployment times and easy O&M (operation and maintenance), making it a better choice for enterprises building their IT infrastructure. Inspur plans to work closely with Nutanix in improving technical testing and optimizing application scenarios to bring about a more robust data center of the future.

Designed to serve emerging business scenarios like AI, multi-cloud, and edge computing, Inspurs four inMerge HCI systems are: inMerge1000M5L (General Purpose), inMerge1000M5G (GPU Optimized), inMerge1000M5S (Storage Optimized), and inMerge900M5S (High-Density, Storage Optimized). The series simplified and flexible architecture helps users build an efficient and agile IT infrastructure.

Next-generation information technologies like cloud computing, AI, and edge computing are becoming new drivers behind the global economy. HCI is widely used in the Internet, finance, manufacturing, energy, and other major sectors. As hyper convergence technology matures and is applied to more specific scenarios, more and more enterprises will find value in adopting its stable yet flexible architecture to build their data centers.

About Inspur

Inspur Information is a leading provider of data center infrastructure, cloud computing, and AI solutions, ranking among the worlds top 3 server manufacturers. Through engineering and innovation, Inspur delivers cutting-edge computing hardware design and extensive product offerings to address important technology arenas like open computing, cloud data center, AI and deep learning. Performance-optimized and purpose-built, our world-class solutions empower customers to tackle specific workloads and real-world challenges. To learn more, please go to http://www.inspursystems.com.

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Inspur Information Unveils inMerge HCI Systems Targeting AI, Edge and Cloud Computing - Business Wire

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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial services institutions globally have discovered that they are able to get a firm grip on the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their technology and operations by adopting cloud-native technologies. Now, as Wolters Kluwers Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR) business outlines in its new white paper, containerization, container orchestration and other concepts usually associated with cloud implementations are helping innovative firms adapt to rapidly changing economic conditions and keep costs under control, particularly in light of COVID-19.

With cloud technologies now widely accepted, senior management is being tasked to become more tech-savvy and embrace ways that technology can make a difference to an organizations bottom line. Cloud-native technology, at a fundamental level, ensures an institutions resources are used more efficiently by reducing fixed costs and allowing better management of available assets. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for such operational flexibility.

The ability to shift operationally from a farm of servers costing tens of thousands of dollars to virtually zero if your activity suddenly dries up, is a substantial margin control tool that is enabled by cloud-native technologies, explains Steve Hostettler, Director of Product Software Engineering at Wolters Kluwer FRR and author of the paper. The benefits of using container technology shells that encapsulate applications specifically designed for the cloud do not, however, require immediately going to the cloud. Whether deployed on-premise or in the cloud, containers and container orchestration technology like Kubernetes, Docker and Helm help organizations respond to opportunities in times of economic expansion but also rapidly reduce costs when hit with a crisis like COVID-19.

Moving assets to the cloud is a natural way of optimizing TCO, making it easier to cope with variations in business volumes. Financial institutions were initially reluctant to move to the cloud, but cloud technologies have evolved substantially, becoming increasingly mainstream and industrialized.

Moving to the cloud can be done in three ways, the paper notes, depending on the number of legacy systems, the amount of investment, and the appetite for change within your organization. There are options to suit each situation, and choosing among a lift and shift approach, re-platforming, or a full re-architecting is a decision that will have to suit an institutions situation.

Notably, containerization and container orchestration represent a natural way to apply re-platforming on legacy applications that can support business strategy. Containerization and container orchestration are seen as ways to bridge typical on-premise architecture and the cloud. Containers use resources efficiently, enabling firms to pay for only what they need and nothing more.

To support their own Software-as-a-Solution offerings as well as customer deployments, innovative financial institutions are investing in containers and container orchestration, helping them manage in-memory grid computing capabilities supporting finance and risk modules for AnaCredit, MAS 610 and other regulatory requirements, adds Hostettler. Thinking about the future innovation, whether in the financial services industry or elsewhere, is no longer an if it is a must. To stay nimble and ahead of the curve, senior management at financial institutions must keep on top of developments in every aspect of the business, from regulation, to risk management, to business development and new revenue streams, to technology and operations.

Wolters Kluwer FRR, which is part of Wolters Kluwers Governance, Risk & Compliance division, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. It supports regulated financial institutions in meeting their obligations to external regulators and their own board of directors.

Wolters Kluwer FRR receives frequent independent recognition of its excellence and innovation, celebrating a record year for award wins in 2019. Risk magazine recently awarded the company its coveted Regulatory Reporting System of The Year Award for the third year running and Wolters Kluwer FRR is the #1 provider in both Regulatory Reporting and Liquidity Risk according to the RiskTech100, as compiled by Chartis Research.

About Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) is a division of Wolters Kluwer, which provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk, increase efficiency, and produce better business outcomes. GRC offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance.

Wolters Kluwer (AEX: WKL) is a global leader in information services and solutions for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,000 people worldwide.

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Wolters Kluwer Outlines Cloud-native Technologies for Optimizing Financial Services Operations in New White Paper - Business Wire

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FRAMINGHAM, Mass.(BUSINESS WIRE)#IDCTrackerAccording to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, vendor revenue in the worldwide server market grew 19.8% year over year to $24.0 billion during the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20). Worldwide server shipments grew 18.4% year over year to nearly 3.2 million units in 2Q20.

In terms of server class, volume server revenue was up 22.1% to $18.7 billion, while midrange server revenue declined 0.4% to about $3.3 billion and high-end systems grew by 44.1% to $1.9 billion.

Global demand for enterprise servers was strong during the second quarter of 2020, said Paul Maguranis, senior research analyst, Infrastructure Platforms and Technologies at IDC. We certainly see areas of reduced spending, but this was offset by investments made by large cloud builders and enterprises targeting solutions that support shifting infrastructure needs caused by the global pandemic. Investments in Asia/Pacific were also particularly strong, growing 31% year over year.

Overall Server Market Standings, by Company

The worldwide server market ended 2Q20 with a statistical tie* between, and Dell Technologies for the number 1 position. HPE/New H3C Group finished the quarter with market share of 14.9% while Dell Technologies captured a 13.9% share of worldwide revenues. Inspur/Inspur Power Systems took third place with 10.5% share and impressive 77% year-over-year growth. Lenovo and IBM tied* for fourth with 6.1% and 6.0% share, respectively. The ODM Direct group of vendors accounted for 28.8% of total server revenue at $6.9 billion with year-over-year growth of 63.4% and delivered 34.4% of all units shipped during the quarter.

Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Server Vendor Revenue, Market Share, and Growth, Second Quarter of 2020 (Revenues are in US$ Millions)

Company

2Q20

Revenue

2Q20

Market

Share

2Q19

Revenue

2Q19

Market

Share

2Q20/2Q19

Revenue

Growth

T1. HPE/New H3C Groupa*

$3,582.4

14.9%

$3,646.4

18.2%

-1.8%

T1. Dell Technologies

$3,339.8

13.9%

$3,793.3

18.9%

-12.0%

3. Inspur/Inspur Power Systemsb

$2,532.9

10.5%

$1,431.0

7.1%

77.0%

T4. Lenovo*

$1,466.6

6.1%

$1,212.3

6.0%

21.0%

T4. IBM*

$1,449.7

6.0%

$1,188.6

5.9%

22.0%

ODM Direct

$6,917.6

28.8%

$4,232.7

21.1%

63.4%

Rest of Market

$4,748.1

19.8%

$4,563.5

22.7%

4.0%

Total

$24,037.1

100.0%

$20,067.8

100%

19.8%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, September 8, 2020

Notes:

* IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide server market when there is a difference of one percent or less in the share of revenues or shipments among two or more vendors.

a Due to the existing joint venture between HPE and the New H3C Group, IDC is reporting external market share on a global level for HPE and New H3C Group as HPE/New H3C Group starting from 2Q 2016.

b Due to the existing joint venture between IBM and Inspur, IDC is reporting external market share on a global level for Inspur and Inspur Power Systems as Inspur/Inspur Power Systems starting from 3Q 2018.

In addition to the table above, a graphic illustrating the worldwide revenue share of the top 5 server companies for the previous five quarters is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Server Unit Shipments, Market Share, and Growth, Second Quarter of 2020

Company

2Q20 Unit

Shipments

2Q20

Market

Share

2Q19 Unit

Shipments

2Q19

Market

Share

2Q20/2Q19

Unit

Growth

T1. HPE/New H3C Groupa*

456,642

14.3%

443,632

16.5%

2.9%

T1. Dell Technologies*

432,556

13.6%

479,941

17.8%

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Worldwide Server Market Revenue Grew 19.8% Year Over Year in the Second Quarter of 2020, According to IDC - Latest Digital Transformation Trends |...

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