> I don't think even the NSA has people smart enough to insert code into a compiler which will add backdoors to software which didn't yet exist when the compile

> I don't think even the NSA has people smart enough to insert code into a compiler which will add backdoors to software which didn't yet exist when the compiler was written. I doubt such a thing is possible given the current state of the art in program analysis. Even if it were possible, it's hard to imagine it being undetectable (e.g. it would probably cause massive slowdowns in compilation). > If you're paranoid, use software written in the past 5 years and compile it on a system running FreeBSD 4.1 off a CD which you've had in your closet for the past decade. If you have a trusted compiler, you can bootstrap any non-trusted one [1]. That said, I suspect implementing diverse double-compiling to build any nontrivial system would take significant work. 1. http://www.dwheeler.com/trusting-trust/ http://www.dwheeler.com/trusting-trust/