NODE 9b9ca0acRe: Commercial PGP: Verifying Trustworthiness
bbyer@BIX.comMon, 30 Aug 93 23:13:56 PDT
In-Reply-To: <9308272026.AA17010@toad.com>
> From: peter honeyman <honey@citi.umich.edu>
> trust? you could read the code, starting at about line 550 of crypto.c.
> of course, you have to trust your eyes, your editor (if you use one),
> and your operating system not to deceive you. (i think i've carried
> this too far.)
I dunno. The early versions of UNIX had a back door in the login
program put in by the designer. The compiler also watched for the
login source code to be recompiled and added the back door. The
compiler also watched for the compiler source code to be recompiled
and inserted the login code modification code _and the compiler
modification code. You can never be to careful.
NODE 10c94da4Re: Commercial PGP: Verifying Trustworthiness
Marc Horowitz <marc@Athena.MIT.EDU>Mon, 30 Aug 93 23:33:56 PDT
>> I dunno. The early versions of UNIX had a back door in the login
>> program put in by the designer. The compiler also watched for the
>> login source code to be recompiled and added the back door. The
>> compiler also watched for the compiler source code to be recompiled
>> and inserted the login code modification code _and the compiler
>> modification code. You can never be to careful.
I've let a lot of stupid comments go by, but I have to respond to this
one.
It is true that Dennis Ritchie (I believe, if not him, one of the
other original UNIX authors) proposed such a login/compiler virus.
But it wasn't in any early version of UNIX.
Marc