NSA Helps Microsoft with a Fairly Major Windows Security Flaw

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NSA Helps Microsoft with a Fairly Major Windows Security Flaw

Jeff Moden

SSC Guru

Points: 1003859
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January 15, 2020 at 12:10 am

#3715465

An unprecedented move for sure. Here's the link. The patch came out today (1/14/2020).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-microsoft-nsa-security-flaw-182512448.html
I have to admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic when the government tries to "help" a company like Microsoft especially when these two institutions are involved.
--Jeff Moden
RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
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Grant Fritchey SSC Guru Points: 398679 More actions · Answer 1

Yeah, I see where the paranoia comes from. However, I can also see how the NSA would prefer a more secure Windows OS.

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt

Author of:
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Matt Miller (4) SSC Guru Points: 124210 More actions · Answer 2

Thanks for sharing it. Great to see that cooperation is happening. Of course the cynic in me couldn't help but note there is no specific info as to WHEN the NSA found the flaw....

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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1003859 More actions · Answer 3

Grant Fritchey wrote:

Yeah, I see where the paranoia comes from. However, I can also see how the NSA would prefer a more secure Windows OS.

Heh... the first thought that came to my mind when I read your reply was "Aye... so say we all".

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Eirikur Eiriksson SSC Guru Points: 182882 More actions · Answer 4

Jeff Moden wrote:

An unprecedented move for sure. Here's the link. The patch came out today (1/14/2020).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-microsoft-nsa-security-flaw-182512448.html
I have to admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic when the government tries to "help" a company like Microsoft especially when these two institutions are involved.

From the looks of it, NSA has been using this for it's purposes for a while but now that might be turning against them, it has become an asset/access deemed worth sacrificing for "good" publicity.

😎

How many entries from the likes of NSA do we see in the common vulnerability databases?