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A friend presented "Reflections on Trusting Trust" this weekend, and that right there is some downright edlritch shit: https://www.ece.cmu.edu/~ganger/712.fall

A friend presented "Reflections on Trusting Trust" this weekend, and that right there is some downright edlritch shit: https://www.ece.cmu.edu/~ganger/712.fall02/papers/p761-thompson.pdf https://www.ece.cmu.edu/~ganger/712.fall02/papers/p761-thomp... The C2 article on it is basically a bunch of mere mortals trying (and failing) to come to grips with it: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TheKenThompsonHack http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TheKenThompsonHack

kbenson 11y ago
That paper has been one of my favorites since I first read it. That said, assuming a bounded level of complexity in the bug/hack, there are ways to jump from an infected toolchain to an uninfected toolchain, it just requires quite a bit of effort. If you can't assume a bonded level of complexity, well, it then becomes a debate on theology.
deleted 11y ago
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