Re:Starting in August, Google will require that they sign ap...
by dredmorbius on Monday May 17, 2021 @07:11AM
(#27182175)
There are cases in which upstream (the original developer) and the Debian packager (Debian Developer) are one and the same. Not many but some. Debian is also the developer and packager of a large set of the core packages.
Upstream can sign or otherwise indicate integrity (e.g., Git revision checksums) of all individual source files. This ... becomes tedious to check, but can be checked against Debian sources to identify where any changes might reside. Note that this still applies only to sources rather than builds, though it's an option. It's likely not an option in wide use.
Debian also ships sources rather than builds, which can be built directly on your own systems (or within your own build-and-distribution network). Debian's had a "reproducible builds" initiative for some years (https://wiki.debian.org/ReproducibleBuilds), and this covers a fair number of packages (I don't have a count offhand), though there are notable exceptions of packages which are simply too complex to build reproducibly. I think the September 2020 summit notes are the best current overview of status, tools, and issues: https://reproducible-builds.org/reports/2020-09/
And, unlike Google Play, it's possible to download from any arbitrary Debian mirror without authentication. Authentication-prior-to-download could lead to branching logic for user-specific modified packages being delivered. Another option of course being for a generically-modified package that targets a single user or specified set of narrow criteria.
Upstream can sign or otherwise indicate integrity (e.g., Git revision checksums) of all individual source files. This ... becomes tedious to check, but can be checked against Debian sources to identify where any changes might reside. Note that this still applies only to sources rather than builds, though it's an option. It's likely not an option in wide use.
Debian also ships sources rather than builds, which can be built directly on your own systems (or within your own build-and-distribution network). Debian's had a "reproducible builds" initiative for some years (https://wiki.debian.org/ReproducibleBuilds), and this covers a fair number of packages (I don't have a count offhand), though there are notable exceptions of packages which are simply too complex to build reproducibly. I think the September 2020 summit notes are the best current overview of status, tools, and issues: https://reproducible-builds.org/reports/2020-09/
And, unlike Google Play, it's possible to download from any arbitrary Debian mirror without authentication. Authentication-prior-to-download could lead to branching logic for user-specific modified packages being delivered. Another option of course being for a generically-modified package that targets a single user or specified set of narrow criteria.