> Nor is there on any free system for which you didn't make every hardware component yourself, as well as audit the executable of the compiler with which you compiled every executable.

If the components follow standards and have multiple independent implementations, you can be reasonable confident it's not backdoored in ways that would require cooperation across the stack. At least you raise the cost bar a lot. Whereas for a vertically integrated system, made by a company headquartered in a jurisdiction with a national security law that permits them to force companies to secretly compromise themselves, the cost of compromise is so low that it would be crazy to think it hasn't been done.

> You did self-compile everything, hopefully?

Including the compiler, of course.

That's where things get circular, which is why I wrote "audit the compiler". But then, how much can you really trust your hex editor... :)

HN. 2 extremes. No nuance.