On Wed, May 24, 2000 at 04:09:45PM -0500, Rick Smith wrote:
> The problem is that you're talking about finding some people with top-notch
> software development skills that can believably be inserted into Microsoft
> under deep cover. They'd have to be able to pursue their backdoor
> installation objectives secretly while continuously justifying their work
> with other, diversionary explanations.
[snip]
> Consider also that commercial developers constantly trade off schedule for
> functionality. How are these guys going to guarantee that they can keep
> their back door working, when some feature crucial to it has been busted to
> support something "more important for the next release"?
They wouldn't need to do any actual coding. They would just have to
insert the code that they received from the windowless building. A
windowless building can house quite a few programmers, so the programmer
hired by [insert software company name here] could appear to be quite
productive. Maybe even extra productive, as I don't think managers are
likely to question productivity. ("Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"
they said, as they wheeled it in through the gates of Troy.)
