In 1984, Ken Thompson (co-creator of Unix) revealed a mind-bending idea: a compiler that could inject a backdoor into any program it compiled — even if the source code was clean. Worse, the compiler itself could be compiled from a backdoored compiler, making the malicious code invisible in both the program and its build tools. His lecture, “Reflections on Trusting Trust,” remains one of the most important warnings in software security history.
#KenThompson #TrustingTrust #SoftwareSecurity #HackingLore #CompilerHacks