Bootstrappable Builds

	Bootstrappable Builds Bootstrappable builds, a process of compiling software that doesn't depend on (compiler) binaries that aren't built from source by this process. This process can protect against compiler backdoors: if the build process doesn't depend on binary code that is difficult to audit, then a compiler backdoor cannot be hidden in compiler binaries anymore. Methods A way to tackle the issue for a Software distributions is to reduce the size of the binaries used to bootstrap the distribution until there are not needed anymore or that the size is small enough to be easily reviewed by humans. Many compilers for various programming languages are written in the language they target. For instance the official Go compiler(gc) is written in Go. So without alternatives compilers compiler like GCC that are written in another programming language (here in C and C++) the go compiler would require a binary of a previous version of the go compiler binary to be built. To have bootstrappable builds, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Compiling In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that translate source code from a high-level programming language to a low-level programming language (e.g. assembly language, object code, or machine code) to create an executable program. Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools by Alfred V. Aho, Ravi Sethi, Jeffrey D. Ullman - Second Edition, 2007 There are many different types of compilers which produce output in different useful forms. A ''cross-compiler'' produces code for a different CPU or operating system than the one on which the cross-compiler itself runs. A ''bootstrap compiler'' is often a temporary compiler, used for compiling a more permanent or better optimised compiler for a language. Related software include ''decompilers'', programs that translate from low-level la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Compiler Backdoors A backdoor is a typically covert method of bypassing normal authentication or encryption in a computer, product, embedded device (e.g. a home router), or its embodiment (e.g. part of a cryptosystem, algorithm, chipset, or even a "homunculus computer"—a tiny computer-within-a-computer such as that found in Intel's AMT technology). Backdoors are most often used for securing remote access to a computer, or obtaining access to plaintext in cryptosystems. From there it may be used to gain access to privileged information like passwords, corrupt or delete data on hard drives, or transfer information within autoschediastic networks. In the United States, the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act forces internet providers to provide backdoors for government authorities. In 2024, the U.S. government realized that China had been tapping communications in the U.S. using that infrastructure for months, or perhaps longer; China recorded presidential candidate campaign offi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]