As much as we don’t like news of hacking and security being compromised, we have a duty to inform the consumers about any compromising situations. WikiLeaks well, continues to leaks information we shouldn’t know and the latest includes the idea that Samsung smart TVs are spying on the people. It’s not Samsung’s doing but rather the CIA who has been targeting OS systems.
According to the recent round of Wikileaks aka the ‘Vault 7’, the CIA has this ‘global covert hacking program’ that checks on Samsung TVs and other operating systems like Android, iOS, mac OS, Windows, and Linux to check on the devices. The Samsung TV for example, is turned into cover microphones so it can spy on the people.
Apple has already released a statement that said the vulnerabilities have already been fixed. Google too has responded to the issue. Linux just released a statement assuring the users that its being open source is safer for most people. The idea is that open source software communities continue to work on securing systems.
Here’s what Nicko van Someren, The Linux Foundation’s Chief technology officer has to say about the issue:
“Linux is a very widely used operating system, with a huge installed base all around the world, so it is not surprising that state agencies from many countries would target Linux along with the many closed source platforms that they have sought to compromise. Linux is an incredibly active open source project. Thousands of professional developers and volunteers – including many of the most talented in the world – are constantly contributing improvements and fixes to the project. This allows the kernel team to release updates every few days – one of the fastest release cycles in the industry. Rapid release cycles enable the open source community to fix vulnerabilities and release those fixes to users faster.
“Further, The Linux Foundation’s Core Infrastructure Initiative (CII), which has the backing of many leading technology companies, is working to actively assist open source projects globally to help them develop their code using best practices proven to yield more secure results. Decades of software development tell us software will never be bug-free.
“Through the work of open source communities, assistance from programs like CII and engagement with a vast pool of talent and support from contributing companies, we can enable open source software communities to continue producing some of the most secure software on the planet.”
Someren shared these words with The Inquirer (INQ) recently. Other companies tagged in this issue have also published their replies.
VIA: The Inquirer
