Re:Juniper breach mystery starts to clear with new details o...
by cryptonector on Monday September 06, 2021 @11:38PM
(#28440678)
Keep in mind that an attacker that can change source code can add a backdoor where there is none. Backdoors are dangerous because their keys can leak. In the case of Dual_EC a leak would have been particularly dangerous because the attack enabled by having the backdoor's key is passive, so not easily detected.
A backdoor rekey attack, if it lets the attacker gain a foothold that allows them continued access after the attack is detected. That is really bad!
No, that's expected behavior and will eventually happen approaching the limit of 100% of the time.
Even worse, a backdoor is often a greater security risk than normal authorization because the backdoor can often access all the data, not just a single user's data.
In short, if you are in government, do not ask for backdoors, if you are in the private sector do not make backdoors. Backdoors are a flawed idea that leads to very bad things for everyone (private sector losses hit government in the pocketbook, too).