Thousands of computers now compromised with leaked NSA tools, researchers say

Re:Thousands of computers now compromised with leaked NSA to... by lazy_gator on Tuesday April 25, 2017 @04:02AM (#14191591)

We can debate the meaning of words, but the goal of a backdoor from the perspective of the government is to gain access to a system. The effect of a backdoor is accomplished through a literal backdoor or a figurative backdoor by hoarding exploits, which both are a detriment of security.

By de facto, I was implying that they both accomplish the same things with almost the same list of pros and cons.

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Re:Thousands of computers now compromised with leaked NSA to... by willstrafach on Tuesday April 25, 2017 @08:36AM (#14192849)

When I worked on jailbreaking tools for iOS devices, we routinely held onto multiple 0-days, waiting for a major iOS release to ensure compatibility.

While I know there may be reasons to disagree with that practice, I think it would be a major stretch to say that it meant iOS suddenly had a backdoor.

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Re:Thousands of computers now compromised with leaked NSA to... by lazy_gator on Tuesday April 25, 2017 @09:54AM (#14193508)

I agree that it is not a true backdoor, but I am simply pointing out that the goal is accomplished by hoarding 0-days or creating an actual backdoor.

The 0-day you were not reporting gave you escalated access to iOS devices. If Apple had given you a backdoor, you would have had the exact same access to the device.

Not saying its the same thing, which is why I used "de facto". The government just wants the access. Regardless the hole is intentional or unintentional, if a hole exists, then overall security is weakened

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