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NSA Asked Linus Torvalds To Install Backdoors Into GNU/Linux [2013](falkvinge.net)

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hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com
269 points

The story does not tell us how Linus Torvalds responded to the NSA, but I’m guessing he told them he wouldn’t be able to inject backdoors even if he wanted to, since the source code is open, and all changes to it are reviewed by many independent people.

Yeah I’m guessing the answer would be more colorful based on the historical data we have

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reisub@discuss.tchncs.de
122 points

based on the historical data

https://github.com/corollari/linusrants

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bitfucker@programming.dev
102 points

There aren’t enough swear-words in the English language, so now I’ll have to call you perkeleen vittupää just to express my disgust and frustration with this crap.

Beautiful

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zbyte64@awful.systems
32 points

It’s like our very own Gordon Ramsay

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Socialist Mormon Satanist@lemmy.world
-3 points

https://github.com/corollari/linusrants

This is beautiful. Thank you! lol

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floofloof@lemmy.ca
42 points

Also experience shows that it’s possible to backdoor software in very subtle ways that could go years without anyone spotting them. So if he had decided to he probably could have done it, despite Linux being open source.

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Sylvartas@lemmy.world
18 points

I would pay money to see daddy Linus flip off some big shot intelligence official

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iAvicenna@lemmy.world
16 points

Oh man would die to see his reply. It would probably start with something like

“The fact that I have to explain this to a person who works in a national security agency makes me really worried…”

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