Bonum Certa Men Certa

A Smokescreen for Brad Smith

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jun 15, 2024

Context: Microsoft Needs to be Banned From Contracts, Including Government Contracts, Not Just for Security Failings But for Criminal Negligence, Corruption, and Fatal Cover-ups

As Cory Doctorow has put it, "Microsoft pinky swears that THIS TIME they'll make security a priority" (like Mark Zuckerberg with privacy).

Pluralistic: Microsoft pinky swears that THIS TIME they'll make security a priority (14 Jun 2024)

Several weeks ago we repeatedly asserted that ahead of the grilling of Microsoft (for getting totally cracked by both Russia and China, then trying to hide it from those affected) the Microsoft-connected media will likely create some "decoy", deflecting or passing attention to "Linux". It's usually timed that way, as the Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) can change both the focus and the nature of the dialogue/discourse online. Around the very same time Brad Smith spoke nonsense we were checking to see what media was not paying attention or instead shifting attention. A friend said it was "maybe worth 'pre-bunking' as Microsoft is on the rocks for its decades-long failure to address even basic security needs."

On the same day as the Smith grilling we saw "Linux" mentioned in relation to Noodle RAT [1,2] (see editorial comments in-line at the bottom), which is actually a Windows problem. "As usual," an associate noted, "the articles give zero details in any way about how to detect or mitigate the problem and, of course, greatly exaggerate the ease and scope of its spread in the wild."

The following day some media said it was "Windows and Linux" [3,4], but it still provided no substantial details. Maybe the key point was to say "Linux is not secure either" or "Windows and Linux are equally vulnerable", so don't bother dumping Microsoft.

Related/contextual items from the news:

  1. InfoSecurity Magazine Chinese Hackers Leveraging 'Noodle RAT' Backdoor [Ed: Windows issue spun as "Linux", even if Linux has nothing to do with it and the focus should be Windows]

    A backdoor in Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) files used by Chinese hackers has wrongly been identified as a variant of existing malware for years, Trend Micro claimed in a new report.

    In Noodle RAT: Reviewing the New Backdoor Used by Chinese-Speaking Groups, a blog post based on a Botconf 2024 presentation, Trend Micro Research introduced Noodle RAT, a remote access Trojan used by Chinese-speaking groups engaged in either espionage or cybercrime.

  2. Trend Micro Noodle RAT: Reviewing the Backdoor Used by Chinese-Speaking Groups [Ed: This is a Windows issue and Linux isn't the source of the problem]

    Since 2022, we have been investigating numerous targeted attacks in the Asia-Pacific region that used the same ELF backdoor. Most vendors identify this backdoor as a variant of existing malware such as Gh0st RAT or Rekoobe. However, we unearthed the truth: this backdoor is not merely a variant of existing malware, but is a new type altogether. We suspect it is being used by Chinese-speaking groups engaged in either espionage or cybercrime. We dubbed this formerly undocumented malware as “Noodle RAT.”

  3. New Cross-Platform Malware 'Noodle RAT' Targets Windows and Linux Systems

    A previously undocumented cross-platform malware codenamed Noodle RAT has been put to use by Chinese-speaking threat actors either for espionage or cybercrime for years.

  4. This dangerous new form of malware is attacking Windows and Linux systems alike

    Noodle RAT malware was flying under the radar for almost a decade

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
For the Second Time in a Few Weeks Microsoft Lunduke Makes False Accusations Against Senior Red Hat Staff to Incite a Despicable 'Troll Army'
Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims of says can be trusted
 
Links 03/10/2025: Lawyers Caught Using LLM Slop Explain Why They Did It, LibreSSL 4.1.1 and 4.0.1 Released
Links for the day
FSF Board Grew 50% Since Last Year, Has New President, Turns 40 in Two Days
It's a good move for the FSF and - by extension - for software freedom
Links 03/10/2025: Conflicts, Death of TypePad, and TikTok/CheeTok Gives a Boost to Far Right Groups in Europe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 02, 2025
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Google News, and LinuxSecurity
They carry on polluting the Web with fake articles
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: Kubernetes With FreeBSD and robots.txt
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: 'Open' 'AI' Resorting to Gimmicks and Fake Funding, Europe’s ‘Drone Wall’ Discussed
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: Brave Passes 100M Users Milestone, Kodak Selling Its Own Film Again
Links for the day
su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
Novell was ruined by another person from IBM, Ronald Hovsepian
A Record Demand at Microsoft: Demand to Cancel
What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
Gemini Links 01/10/2025: Chat Control and End of Life
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
Links for the day
Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
Now it's time to move on, perhaps tarnishing the "Open Source" label some more (for whatever sponsor wants this)
Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Clerical Aspects of Publishing and Development
In Free software, the management aspects are considerably reduced
Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
Third Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in September, This Time Many in Liverpool Affected
Be ready for more waves of layoffs ahead of the so-called "results" in late October