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

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
 
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025