Re: protecting source code in 2.6 (fwd)

From: Richard B. Johnson (root_at_chaos.analogic.com)
Date: 05/21/04

  • Next message: Bill Davidsen: "Re: protecting source code in 2.6" 
    Date:	Fri, 21 May 2004 15:54:38 -0400 (EDT)
To: Linux kernel <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    To: Jinu M. <jinum@esntechnologies.co.in>
    From: Richard B. Johnson <root@chaos.analogic.com>
    Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, kernelnewbies@nl.linux.org,
         Surendra I. <surendrai@esntechnologies.co.in>
    Subject: Re: protecting source code in 2.6

    On Thu, 20 May 2004, Jinu M. wrote:

    > Hi All,
    >
    > We are developing a block device driver on linux-2.6.x kernel. We want
    > to distribute our driver as sum of source code and librabry/object code.
    >
    [SNIPPED...]

    If it executes INSIDE the kernel, i.e., becomes part of a module,
    it executes with no protection whatsoever. It is, therefore,
    capable of destroying anything in the kernel including anything
    the kernel can touch. Therefore, such a secret blob of code
    can destroy all the user's work. It can even propagate to other
    machines over the network and infect them. In short, it can
    be a worm, Trojan Horse, or other dangerous, even "Microsoft-like"
    infection. If it's not, it will be blamed anyway.

    There are no secret methods of interfacing to proprietary
    hardware. One can only use the methods provided by the target
    CPU and its associated hardware components. Anybody who thinks
    that their hardware interface code represents protected intellectual
    property doesn't have a clue what intellectual property is.

    If you have some magic unpublished algorithms in your driver,
    they shouldn't be there. They should be in a user-mode library
    that interfaces with the driver. In this manner, you keep your
    secret algorithms to yourselves, protecting your intellectual
    property, while publishing your interface code that executes,
    unprotected, in the kernel.

    So, either provide the source-code for your driver or go away.
    There are very few persons who will allow you to insert secret
    code into their kernels where it could destroy everything of
    value to them.

    Cheers,
    *** Johnson
    Penguin : Linux version 2.4.26 on an i686 machine (5557.45 BogoMips).
                Note 96.31% of all statistics are fiction.

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