From oss-security  Tue Nov 02 17:05:52 2021
From: "David A. Wheeler" <dwheeler () dwheeler ! com>
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2021 17:05:52 +0000
To: oss-security
Subject: Re: [oss-security] Trojan Source Attacks
Message-Id: <02CDFB7D-3E27-4C74-A7FA-11FE08043AC2 () dwheeler ! com>
X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=oss-security&m=163587280611930



> On Nov 2, 2021, at 9:23 AM, Josh Bressers <josh@bress.net> wrote:
> You could argue the obfuscated C contest is related, that goes back to =
1984.
> https://www.ioccc.org/years.html#1984

You could certainly make that argument :-). At the least,
I think the obfuscated V contest was heavily inspired by the obfuscated =
C contest.
After all, just look at the similarities of the name!=20

I didn=E2=80=99t make that argument.  The obfuscated C contest doesn=E2=80=
=99t bill itself
as trying to fool anything as thinking some code did something =
*different*.
Most entries are so bizarre that you have to deeply analyze it to figure =
out what it does at all.
It=E2=80=99s usually painfully obvious that obfuscated C entries are =
hard to read.

Underhanded code is, I think, significantly different. Instead of being =
clearly hard to understand,
It=E2=80=99s designed to be (1) easy to understand WRONGLY, (2) look =
innocent, and
(3) do something malevolent.

--- David A. Wheeler