Earlier quoted context omitted.
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Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
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Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
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Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably not sanctions, but national security concerns. The former aims to punish and worsen the situation of the other country, the latter aims to reduce the attack vector and improve the situation of the US.
It’s pretty evident at this point that any Russian citizen in Russia or with family in Russia can be coerced, and it’s also pretty clear that Putin specifically does not have good intentions. There are lots of good people there. It’s too bad there is a crazy person at the helm.
It is evident everyone CAN be coerced. Not that everyone WILL BE, because some people still think of themselves as people, not some “honest citizens” or “economic agents”.
It is also evident that someone quite far from Russia HAS ALREADY BEEN coerced to make that unannounced change, but you try really hard to look the other way. “Those Linux nerds” were shown who's the boss in the room when it comes to “important matters”. Don't you feel that the form of that change itself is a sign of silent disobedience, and you are expected to participate in public outcry forcing further developments instead of just bending over willingly?
It is totally possible that there was some direct intelligence that those accounts can be used in some clandestine operation in the future, probably without even asking some of the owners. After all, spies are #1 information source to other spies, they run the global spectacle together. Still, accepting “this is secret” as an excuse, you are already accepting defeat.
Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#124My initial reaction reading the thread was just to shake my head. What's the point of open source?
Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#125Strongly opposed to any sort of sanction regime that results in this.
Let me spell it out for you: If Project P in Country A is identified by Country B as a potential target for planting cyber-attack-enabling backdoors, Country B has an incentive to find people to put a backdoor in P. If Country B is a free country with rights and ethics, they will say "Help us put a backdoor in P. We'll pay you very well for services rendered," or try to get someone who already works for Country B int…
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Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#126Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
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I thought I read that they had enough maintainers already and so don't need to write any guides on kernel development.
Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#128Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me spell it out for you: If Project P in Country A is identified by Country B as a potential target for planting cyber-attack-enabling backdoors, Country B has an incentive to find people to put a backdoor in P. If Country B is a free country with rights and ethics, they will say "Help us put a backdoor in P. We'll pay you very well for services rendered," or try to get someone who already works for Country B int…
Really appreciate informative comments like this, basically explaining from first principles and not assuming people are idiots for not immediately understanding the implications. It also made me realise what a cushy, insular world I live in not having to worry about those threats when I write software. Made me more aware of what others might face.
It’s a made up scenario that has never been documented to happen with a major OSS project. The solution seems like an incredibly poor fit and this justification is retroactive. The notion that they are actually doing the Russian maintainers a favor is ridiculous.
When a society starts shadowboxing figments of its own imagination, that is not a good sign for the health of the society.
Re: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
> That freedom means giving enemies unfettered access to our most sensitive systems? Do you imply that Linux is a technology controlled by Western state actors? > I would like to remind you of the recent XZ utils backdoor into SSH contributed by a less than friendly nation state. Would you support a backdoor contributed by a friendly nation state?
I didn't say "western"! Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, the world has been split in two: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea... and everybody else. I can deploy an Azure or AWS cloud server right now in any one of several dozen nations, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Qatar, Israel, and Mexico. I can't deploy VMs in Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea. Not just because of sanctions, but because they don'…
> Russia, China, Iran, North Korea... and everybody else.
Something is happening in Kazan as we speak. In attendance are many among your "everybody else", many of whom have no great love for any of these four. It is worth asking why this might be.