Bonum Certa Men Certa

White House Asking Proprietary Software Companies That Add NSA Back Doors About Their Views on 'Open Source' Security

Video download link | md5sum 660351fe04a47c33611de299d17501b4 GAFAM Finger-pointing for White House Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: The US government wants us to think that in order to tackle security issues we need to reach out to the collective 'wisdom' of the very culprits who created the security mess in the first place (even by intention, for imperialistic objectives)

THE very same companies that back-door their own software (i.e. deliberately make their products not secure) have been asked by the American administration for their views on the security of Free software and security of such software, which isn't defective by design, maybe just by accident, occasionally.



We've already commented on this ludicrous situation in passing (in our Daily Links). The biggest National Security threat (Microsoft) is infiltrating panels on security, diverting attention away from the biggest threats to lesser threats, which are usually the solution, too. Lobbying? Outright political corruption? Both?

Either way, the above video concerns this new article, which is only one of many. We already listed about half a dozen earlier today. The author is so clueless that he calls the Linux Foundation the "Linux Open Source Foundation" and names IBM/Red Hat as if they're separate entities. The same for GitHub and Microsoft. To quote: "The full tech participant list includes Akamai, Amazon, Apache Software Foundation, Apple, Cloudflare, Facebook/Meta, GitHub, Google, IBM, Linux Open Source Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, RedHat and VMware."

Of the above, only the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) actually speaks for Free/Open Source software. Yes, Zemlin's PAC is little but a front group for some of those other companies.

Why are all the companies invited (assuming Red Hat is just IBM) to discuss this matter dripping "conflict of interest" and how can this establish trust? Why don't they also discuss the threat posed by proprietary software? Some of the headlines that emerged afterwards want us to think that "Open Source" -- not Microsoft et al -- is the real "national security" threat. We'll omit links to those "reports"... (FUD)

“...any real plan has to eliminate Microsoft from both the desktop and the supporting infrastructure. That is a staffing problem, not a technical one.”
      --Techrights associate
"Speaking of politics," an associate noted today, "notice that the US' concern about critical infrastructure is shifting all of the blame and attention on to FOSS. At the same time only the big, proprietary vendors are invited to the planning sessions with the government. They bring in clowns instead of the big names. They should at least be consulting with Bruce Perens, Bruce Schneier, Dan Geer, Moxie Marlinspike, Eugene Spafford, Daniel Bernstein, Paul Vixie etc. (notice that Spaf's quote about Windows is now missing from pretty much every page that includes his old quotes...)"

And "even RMS and Linus Torvalds could add benefit if they had not been reframed as controversial by the attackers now moving in and out of DC. Wietse Venema is in the US too... Phil Zimmermann is still around too. Many of those involved in LibreSSL and OpenSSL are in the US as well... the list of knowledgeable, skilled, experienced people is long. No need for them to include any frauds, charlatans, or poseurs. But that's what we get when Microsoft reps got in on the campaign team. Microsoft created the problems, and therefore is unable to solve them and it would be inappropriate to even have them involved. There's a famous quote which goes approximately like this, "we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them." As such Microsoft representatives have to be cleared from the room long, long before discussion can start. Ransomware is just one symptom of microsoftianism. Even if Windows is retained for a shorter period on the desktop, servers could run FreeBSD with OpenZFS.The snapshotting feature would make data restoration much less inconvenient. However, any real plan has to eliminate Microsoft from both the desktop and the supporting infrastructure. That is a staffing problem, not a technical one. Even Microsofters, such as Mitchel Lewis, observe that, but most don't dare speak up. I presume fear of NDAs and non-disparagement clauses in various contracts, especially terminations."

“Microsoft created the problems, and therefore is unable to solve them and it would be inappropriate to even have them involved.”
      --Techrights associate
The number of articles we saw about Log4j that cited Microsoft as if it was a security expert was truly worrying. Since when does Microsoft get to play "concern troll" about "Open Source"?

"About the disappearance of the Spafford quote," our associate noted: "It used to be cited everywhere but most of those sites are gone and the rest seem to have redacted just that one quote."

Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
 
Why the "Wayland People" and "Rust People" Will Lose Hearts and Minds (Same Reasons)
Wayland pushers are fast becoming like "Rust People"
5,600 Pages/Articles Per Year
So far this year we've kept all the promises
BetaNews Beginning to Show What Its True Goals Are
The 'new' BetaNews won't be about journalism. It's trying to sell things.
Microsoft Has Lost "The War"
We'll soon see the 9th or 10th wave of Microsoft layoffs in 2025 alone
Slopwatch: A Wreck and a Dreck, "Flooding the Zone With Dreck" or Flooding the Web With Junk
"Slopwatch" continues today because we have many new examples
Links 25/06/2025: Thwarting More Software Patents, Overlap Grows Between EPO Corruption and Illegal Kangaroo Patent Courts in EU
Links for the day
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore