This is how I feel as I research CPU vulnerability mitigations. The earth beneath us is a thin hollow shell and to keep from falling through it into the abyss we must perform abominable rites.<p>Every year the security researchers find new evidence that literally all computers are fundamentally and irreparably broken, every year the software engineers add mitigations to the kernel, we hope that the vulns are mitigated but we sleep a little worse at night.
Related work: <a href="https://www.usenix.org/system/files/1311_05-08_mickens.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.usenix.org/system/files/1311_05-08_mickens.pdf</a>
This is fantastic writing, and James should stop working for Microsoft and move to Hollywood like Barton Fink. Ok, maybe not the best example in the world..
Ah fantastic. This is a great read to distract me from the Bitcoin fanatics I work with who insist “but they’ve solved the Byzantine generals problem! This is amazing technology and just wait until we find a practical application!”
More James Mickens:<p><a href="https://youtu.be/ajGX7odA87k" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/ajGX7odA87k</a><p><a href="https://youtu.be/D5xh0ZIEUOE" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/D5xh0ZIEUOE</a>