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Interesting. I didn't realize that the Air Force security analysis of Multics in the 1970s contained a description of what we call the Thompson attack (have the
by not2b 3y ago
Interesting. I didn't realize that the Air Force security analysis of Multics in the 1970s contained a description of what we call the Thompson attack (have the compiler insert a back door, and because the compiler for the language is written in the language, have the attack persist even when the compiler is recompiled), and this was almost a decade before Thompson's lecture.
- eichin 3y agoI'm pretty sure he's credited the air force report before but I believe the actual report only resurfaced recently (maybe some time in the last year?)
- bentley 3y agoYes, the credit is in the original Reflections on Trusting Trust. > Acknowledgment. I first read of the possibility of such a Trojan horse in an Air Force critique of the security of an early implementation of Multics. I cannot find a more specific reference to this document. I would appreciate it if anyone who can supply this reference would let me know.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]