Weekly IT Issues in the Americas, First Week of January

[1] 'Malware' infiltrating Google Play Store alert
It has been revealed that Android malware infiltrating the Google Play Store has infected over 100,000 users across 196 countries. According to foreign media reports, this malicious software is causing concern because it can snoop on users' locations, communication logs, files, and accounts. The reports explained, "The malware is most frequently found in general-purpose applications, including games and flashlight apps," adding, "It is possible that apps were uploaded to the store with active malware." They further pointed out, "It is possible that several months have already passed since many users downloaded the apps in question."

[2] BlackBerry 'Security Feature Pack' Attention
BlackBerry’s newly introduced security feature pack is garnering attention. Foreign media outlets have observed that with the announcement of the BlackBerry security feature pack, companies will be able to more easily introduce secure IoT devices to the market. They explained, “BlackBerry provides trusted software and a verified framework through the security feature pack,” adding that “by enabling companies to securely deploy smart products such as health trackers and smart speakers, it eliminates the need for companies to develop their own proprietary technology and deep security systems.”

[3] Huawei unveils next-generation server chipset
Huawei has entered the cloud player market by unveiling its next-generation chipset for servers. The new chipset, called the Kunpeng 920, is designed for data centers and is set to power Huawei's TaiShan servers. However, foreign media have speculated that recent political pressure on Huawei could affect sales of the new servers. In response, Huawei stated through foreign media that "the company will comply with laws and regulations in local markets."

[4] NVIDIA unveils mid-range Turing GPU
NVIDIA unveiled its first mid-range GPU based on its Turing GPU architecture at CES in Las Vegas. NVIDIA's new GPU is expected to be highly utilized by gamers in the future as it supports real-time ray tracing graphics. NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2060 delivers 52 teraflops of deep learning computing performance with 6GB of GDDR6 memory and 240 Tensor Cores.

[5] “Global semiconductor sales grow 13.4%... Samsung Electronics maintains lead”
Global semiconductor sales grew by 13.4%, driven by the memory market. According to Gartner, global semiconductor sales reached $476.7 billion last year, with memory accounting for 34.8% of total revenue. Gartner analyzed, “Samsung Electronics, the largest semiconductor supplier, took the lead as the number one vendor due to the rapidly growing DRAM market,” adding, “While sales continued to grow last year building on the momentum established in 2017, gross profits from memory were only half the growth rate of 2017.” The report further noted, “The combined revenue of the top 25 semiconductor vendors increased by 16.3% in 2018, accounting for 79.3% of the market.”