Re: Torvalds Slams Theoretical Security

On 10/21/24 3:07 PM, Lester Thorpe wrote:

Distro maintainers, and their lackey consumers, who bloat their GNU/Linux
distros with performance degrading security "features" should take note
of the latest exclamations of Linus Torvalds:
 "Honestly, I'm pretty damn fed up with buggy hardware and completely theoretical
attacks that have never actually shown themselves to be used in practice."
 https://linux.slashdot.org/story/24/10/21/1533228/linus-torvalds-growing-frustrated-by-buggy-hardware-theoretical-cpu-attacks
 Tell 'em, Linus!  Those paranoid freaks are ruining desktop computing!

   Linus is "kind-of right", but "kind-of not".
   The problem is State-funded actors these days
   and the MASSIVE computing power they can bring
   to bear. At least SOME of those "theoretical"
   attack vectors CAN become real attack vectors.
   But WHICH ???
   Yes, you can go totally overboard on "security",
   and, mostly, it won't do much good. Paranoia can
   push this to extremes where you can barely use
   the system/apps (think Vista) - and I think that's
   what Linus is concerned with.
   However there ARE 'sensible' security measures
   that go beyond mere Linux passwords and a few
   port blocks.