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This clown fiesta on Cellebrite's side is an example of the issues of trusting a compiler that Ken Thompson pointed out all those years ago[1]. Trust and Compu
by PartiallyTyped 5y ago
This clown fiesta on Cellebrite's side is an example of the issues of trusting a compiler that Ken Thompson pointed out all those years ago[1].
Trust and Computers don't go hand in hand [2].
[1] https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/194746/what-is-the-ken-thompson-hack https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/1947...
[2] https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/05/trusting-trust/#thompsons-devil https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/05/trusting-trust/#thompsons...
- colejohnson66 5y agoThis actually happened with someone way back when: https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-coders-worst-nightmare/answer/Mick-Stute https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-coders-worst-nightmare/answe...
- px43 5y agoPretty sure we had to do the "trusting trust" patch set as a homework assignment during my CS undergrad. It's not actually super complicated. Backdoor login.c when you see it, and backdoor GCC when you see it. Sounds like someone took code from their homework assignment and added a few fun extra credit features to screw with their psychology professor. I can imagine how it would be pretty confusing to stumble across if you hadn't read the paper though :-)