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 "Cool Kids" Are Already Using GNU/Linux, Microsoft is Just Cheating
The future and the present are Linux
IBM Going International (and India)
It's Monday and a national holiday
Microsoft Lunduke Belongs in 4Chan
Assuming Microsoft Lunduke is aware of the full context, he is now trolling not one but two decent organisations
 
IBM's Chronic Neglect Won't Save Anything and It Might Even Get IBM Sued
The problem is likely a lack of manpower, not deliberate shoddiness
Gemini Links 17/02/2025: Ideal OS, AuraRepo Alpha, and Simple Code
Links for the day
Links 17/02/2025: War on Dissent and Bloggers, Nationalism a Growing Theme
Links for the day
GeekWire: Microsoft Bribes Us While We Cover Microsoft Affairs (Spin Doctoring), Hence We Are "Independent"
What good is a "journalist" sponsored by the very same company he or she writes about?
The Attacks on LinuxQuestions.org
Going to Clownflare only worsens the problem
The GNU Manifesto Turns 40 Next Month
The guardian of Free software (definition, licences, philosophy, hosting and so on) has managed to endure and persevere for 40 years. Very few others can say the same.
In Europe and in India Richard Stallman Need Not Duck Anymore, People Trying to Cancel His Talk Have No Sway
the last time a talk by Dr. Stallman got canceled was about a year ago
Back From a Short Break
We can now resume and try to stick to the usual pace
Links 17/02/2025: LLMs Failing and Patreon Support Becoming a Burden to Bloggers
Links for the day
Links 17/02/2025: Blogroll Conundrum; Research, Scientists Under Siege
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 16, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 16, 2025
Links 16/02/2025: Nostalgia for Physical Media and the US Government Actively Promotes Pro-Kremlin Politicians in the EU
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/02/2025:Life, Cynicism, and languages
Links for the day
Links 16/02/2025: Oligarchs "Collect Your Data and Control Your World", Global Temperatures Shoot Up
Links for the day
Promoting Microsoft Windows With LLM Slop
What is the policy at BetaNews regarding LLM slop?
Alex Oliva, the Potential 'Successor' of RMS, Has a New Web Site
More freedom for Alex Oliva
Links 16/02/2025: "Microsoft Is Laying Off Employees" and Internal Dissent Brewing at Facebook Over Regime Complicity
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 15, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 15, 2025
Links 15/02/2025: Harms to Health, Public Domain, and More
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/02/2025: On Autistic People, AuraGem Over HTTPS
Links for the day
The Cyber Show (C|S) Speaks of the "Rise of the Nerd Reich."
This 'Valentine Episode' is quite good
Azure is Turning 17 This Year, Still Losing Money and Staff
Hallmark of pyramid schemes, deriving "value" out of things that do not really exist?
Strong Momentum for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as Winter Approaches Its End in Boston or in the Northern Hemisphere
FSF's founder, Richard Stallman, gives another talk in Italy in 9 days from now
The 'Drunken Plagiarists' Are Harming Journalism About GNU/Linux
They lessen the incentive to do real journalism abut GNU/Linux
Female Nazis and racist Swiss women
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman on RISC-V and Free Hardware
Invidious is under attack by Google
Links 15/02/2025: Erasing of American Science and Tesla SLAPPing Critics
Links for the day
IDG 'Reviews' of GNU/Linux Now Contain LLM Slop
It's typically ads or commercials... or sometimes spin disguised as news
Gemini Links 15/02/2025: Spectacles and "Before Sunset", Moving Domains Out of the US
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Only $17,482 Million Left, "Cash on Hand" Sank 40 Billion Dollars in 2 Years
Microsoft runs low on money in the bank
YouTube Layoffs Mean That YouTube is Still Losing a Lot of Money (Net Income or Profit Almost Definitely Negative)
In more recent years Google defunded many vloggers
In Gopher and Gemini Protocol People Abandon Services Based in the United States
There's no resistance whatsoever
Python and Microsoft: Pandas Should Have Known OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Microsoft Excel Are Different and Competing Things
now we're meant to think that in order to open ODF files we need some functions with "Excel" in their name
Not Only Windows, Surface, and "Hey Hi" PCs; Microsoft's Hardware Ventures Are a Dumpster Fire; HoloLens Mixed Reality Hardware Now Axed Altogether and Staff is Miserable
Microsoft is in a terrible state
Certificate Authority (CA) Let's Encrypt Now Down to TEN (0.3% of the Whole) in Geminispace
The number of capsules that use Let's Encrypt is, according to Lupa, about to fall to single-digit figures
Links 15/02/2025: University Price Hikes and Copyright Action Against Slop Companies
Links for the day
Slopwatch: All Those New 'Articles' Are Fake and Crafted by Chatbots (LLM Slop)
Google News is promoting these as "Linux" news; they're not even made by humans
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 14, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, February 14, 2025