Bonum Certa Men Certa

Back Door (Automatic Update) in WordPress and What It Means to Techrights

Matt Mullenweg
Author: Ronny Siegel



Summary: Techrights is moving to Drupal now that WordPress introduces back doors as part of the core package

Techrights was always a WordPress-based Web site. I have been with the WordPress for nearly a decade and I met its co-founder (Mike Little) for coffee about 8 years ago, back when I was more actively involved in the development side. That was around the time this Web site started. It used WordPress 2.0 for quite a few years (and since the very start) because this version was a long-term support release (as required for inclusion in Debian GNU/Linux software respositories). Contrary to some smears and lies, Techrights never got cracked in any way whatsoever. It's build very securely and only DDOS attacks took it down. Around 2009 there was an upgrade which resulted in very little change to the site's appearance as consistency was a priority. In response to DDOS attacks it also added a cache proxy and more CPU cores. To the outsider (visitor), this site today looks very similar to how it looked 7 years ago. But this aging look makes it less suitable for its breadth. In fact, a blogging platform was outgrown when we added a Wiki (later in the same year) and now we deal with issues of organisational nature. WordPress has just had a release with automatic updates [1,2] (security risk in itself, but it's toggled off by default, for now) and there is already a bugfix release [3], which in many cases will get installed automatically even though it has no security-related fixes. This can be risky if the update mechanism gets hijacked (as has happened before to other companies). Governments can compel companies to misuse this mechanism or secretly take over it* in order to install Trojan horses in the background (targeting particular sites). In any event, automatic updates come with risks that are backdoor-like; Drupal, a European project, does not have this issue, at least not yet. The front page of this site is now Drupal-powered and it is a sign of things to come. The plan is -- one way or another -- to make Drupal the primary component of the site without disrupting or even changing the old pages. The transition can be slow, but we're determined to make it happen.

____ * The NSA is good at covert action and Automattic would be easy pickings for it, not just because it's US-based (packets can be sniffed and decrypted for passwords). While I have enormous trust and respect for Matt Mullenweg, who is a charming man of integrity, I very much doubt he can challenge his government technically and legally. An intervention-free remote update mechanism is a trade-off between security and so-called 'national security' (the oppressors' power). Remember that WordPress got backdoored once before (core -- not plugins -- in version 2.1.1). Linux too was a victim, a few years earlier (it was developed and hosted in the United States at the time). The very existence of backdoor-like mechanism is begging to be abused. Experience teaches that it does get abused, and far more often than most of us choose to believe. The more subversive sites become, the bigger a target they become for authorities' 'legalised' cracking teams.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. WordPress 3.7 introduces automatic updates
    The WordPress team has announced the release of version 3.7 which makes WordPress more secure. The release is named “Basie” in honor of Count Basie.


  2. WordPress 3.7 Debuts, Improving Security for Millions


  3. WordPress 3.7.1 Maintenance Release


Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Case is a Very Easy Win, the SLAPPs From Microsofters Were a Grave Error, and Censoring Information Won't Work (It'll Only Ever Backfire)
Censoring is what people do when they lose the argument
 
Links 04/06/2025: WSL Backfiring on Microsoft and "Disney, Microsoft Announce Massive Layoffs"
Links for the day
Say the Truth, the Rest Will Follow
There's no guarantee that writing the truth will result in an audience (or readership), but over time - in the long run - people generally gravitate towards what they know or feel to be crude truth, not just what's comforting (albeit false or self-deluding, usually groupthink dictated from above)
How to Expose High-Level Corruption Without Getting in (Too Much) Trouble
Democracy depends on free press and freedom of the press depends on being able to safely publish (and keep available) material that bad people don't want to be known to anybody
In-Depth EPO Coverage at Techrights Turns Eleven
11 years is a very long time
Windows Measured Below 10% in Afghanistan, GNU/Linux Gaining a Lot
about 80% are Android (Linux) users, compared to only about 10% for Windows
Poland's Political Predicament and Social Control Media
Democracy and fake "tech" don't mix well; the latter tends to interfere with the former and that's why we get more "Putins" out there
EPO: Taking Away From the Staff to Give More to the Rich
The Central Staff Committee (CSC) wrote to EPO staff earlier this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 03, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 03, 2025
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part I: It's a Lot Like the EPO
we can commence a series soon
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Inescapable Questions and Quitting All "Oligarch Tech"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux FUD From Slopfarms, Blaming Linux for Microsoft Issues; Even WebProNews Has Become a Slopfarm (Googlebombing "Linux" With Slop Images and Fake/Plagiarised Text)
The Web is really getting bad; it's also overwhelmed by fake material or plagiarised material, wherein the plagiarism gets disguised/hidden by LLM sausage factories
Links 03/06/2025: Tiananmen Square Massacre Censorship and Growing Military Activities Around Taiwan
Links for the day
Linux is Already Dominant (Android), Let's Make GNU/Linux Dominant in Desktops/Laptops as Well
"Dr. Stallman recently warned everybody about Microsoft."
The Loyalty to Microsoft and the Salaries From Microsoft (Funding SLAPPs Against Techrights and Tux Machines)
Garrett always knows better. He knows everything best.
Windows Falls in Italy as GNU/Linux Jumps to 5%
Italy knows a thing or two about digital autonomy
Nigeria is All Android and Google
Windows down to almost nothing in Africa's largest population
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Second Wave) Not Limited to Redmond
"More layoffs at Microsoft as axe falls in Washington and California"
Gemini Links 03/06/2025: Forth System and "Common Lisp is a Dumpster"
Links for the day
The Leaks Were Right: Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in May, Then Another Wave in June
Just as we've been saying for over a month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 02, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 02, 2025
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025