---
created_at: '2011-05-12T08:35:32.000Z'
title: Linus Torvalds on the "security circus" (2008)
url: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/15/296
author: vog
points: 87
story_text: ''
comment_text: 
num_comments: 55
story_id: 
story_title: 
story_url: 
parent_id: 
created_at_i: 1305189332
_tags:
- story
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objectID: '2539839'

---
[Source](http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/15/296 "Permalink to LKML: Linus Torvalds: Re: [stable] Linux 2.6.25.10")

# LKML: Linus Torvalds: Re: [stable] Linux 2.6.25.10


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* [First message in thread][11]
* [ pageexec@freemail ...][12]
    * [Linus Torvalds][13]
        * [Linus Torvalds][14]
            * ["Aidan Thornton"][14]
        * [ pageexec@freemail ...][15]
            * [Linus Torvalds][16]
                * [Linus Torvalds][17]
                * [Phil Pell][18]
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| Date | Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:13:03 -0700 (PDT) |  |
| From | Linus Torvalds <> |  |
| Subject | Re: [stable] Linux 2.6.25.10 | 

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    On Tue, 15 Jul 2008, Linus Torvalds wrote:  
    >   
    > So as far as I'm concerned, "disclosing" is the fixing of the bug. It's   
    > the "look at the source" approach.  
      
    Btw, and you may not like this, since you are so focused on security, one   
    reason I refuse to bother with the whole security circus is that I think   
    it glorifies - and thus encourages - the wrong behavior.  
      
    It makes "heroes" out of security people, as if the people who don't just   
    fix normal bugs aren't as important.  
      
    In fact, all the boring normal bugs are _way_ more important, just because   
    there's a lot more of them. I don't think some spectacular security hole   
    should be glorified or cared about as being any more "special" than a   
    random spectacular crash due to bad locking.  
      
    Security people are often the black-and-white kind of people that I can't   
    stand. I think the OpenBSD crowd is a bunch of masturbating monkeys, in   
    that they make such a big deal about concentrating on security to the   
    point where they pretty much admit that nothing else matters to them.  
      
    To me, security is important. But it's no less important than everything   
    *else* that is also important!  
      
    			Linus  
      
      
    

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[2]: http://lkml.org/lkml
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[4]: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7
[5]: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/15
[6]: http://lkml.org/lkml/last100
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[8]: http://lkml.org#
[9]: http://lkml.org/lkml/mheaders/2008/7/15/296
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[11]: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/3/40
[12]: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/15/281
[13]: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/15/293
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[21]: http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/7/15/611
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