4 ms·
A secret way for the manufacturer to get into your device; the term "backdoor" is very appropriate I think. Most manufacturers would not go about it as clumsil
by colonwqbang 6y ago
A secret way for the manufacturer to get into your device; the term "backdoor" is very appropriate I think. Most manufacturers would not go about it as clumsily as Xyxel, but it's the same thing.
- jml7c5 6y agoBut implicit in your statement that it's "a secret way for the manufacturer to get into your device" is the claim that Zyxel intended it as a bypass. It seems like without intent, anything can be called a "backdoor". My browser receives automatic updates, and Mozilla could push an update that gives them remote access to my user account. But I don't think anyone would say Mozilla has "backdoored" Firefox.
- colonwqbang 6y agoFirstly, I think it's a lot to ask that we believe Zyxel put a backdoor in their products and then just forgot about it. But even if we choose to believe that, it's not wrong to say that it was secret. "Secret" typically means "without the knowledge of others". If I forget the secret combination to my safe, it doesn't become "not a secret" because of that. In your example, Mozilla has presumably made public that they are using remote updates. So it can hardly be described as secret.