📂 Zero-Day Exploit

Plus: 💎 $6 billion in pure profit, 🧩 Python + Excel

August 24, 2023

📂 Newly Discovered WinRAR Vulnerability Exploited by Hackers to Drain Traders' Accounts

Cybercriminals are exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in WinRAR, a popular software for compressing and decompressing files, to target traders and steal their funds.

A zero-day vulnerability is a security flaw in software that is unknown to the developer, so there is no patch available to fix it.

The vulnerability affects the processing of the ZIP file format by WinRAR and allows hackers to hide malicious scripts in archive files masquerading as .jpg images or .txt files.

Hackers have been using this trick since April to spread infected ZIP files on trading forums, where people discuss and share tips on financial markets.

When a forum user opens the ZIP file, the hackers can access their brokerage account, allowing them to perform unauthorized transactions and withdraw funds from the victim’s account.

The cybersecurity company Group-IB discovered this vulnerability and reported it to Rarlab, the company that makes WinRAR. Rarlab released an updated version of WinRAR (version 6.23) on August 2 that fixes the issue.

💎 Nvidia Achieves Trillion-Dollar Status

Nvidia has recently joined Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft among the world’s trillion-dollar companies.

The company has made a staggering $13.5 billion in revenue since May, with unprecedented demand for its generative AI chips.

Data centers accounted for a record $10.32 billion of that revenue, more than doubling in just one quarter, and Nvidia made $6.188 billion in profit as a result.

Nvidia expects to make even more money next quarter, with data centers being the main growth driver.

The company is also working on its next AI chip, the GH200, which will be released in mid-2024 for an undisclosed price.

🧩 Microsoft Announces Integration of Python Language into Excel

Microsoft is bringing the popular programming language Python to Excel.

Python is a popular programming language that can do many things, such as data analysis, machine learning, web development, and more.

By integrating Python in Excel, you can use Python’s plots and libraries to manipulate and explore data in Excel, and then use Excel’s formulas, charts, and PivotTables to further refine your insights.

Python integration in Excel will be part of Excel’s built-in connectors and Power Query. Microsoft is also adding a new PY function that allows you to use Python data in an Excel spreadsheet.

Through a partnership with Anaconda, you can access popular Python libraries like pandas, statsmodels, and Matplotlib in Excel. These libraries can help you with data manipulation, statistical modeling, and visualization.

The feature is currently available in Public Preview only for members of the Microsoft 365 Insiders Beta Channel

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