Video summary
The video addresses the recent surge in news stories regarding severe vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel and counters the narrative that Linux has suddenly become insecure. The speaker argues that Linux was never truly secure to begin with, nor has it ever been accurately claimed to be more secure than Windows. Both operating systems are fundamentally flawed because they are created by human beings who inevitably make mistakes, write imperfect code, and introduce bugs. The core message is that the perception of increased insecurity in Linux is not due to a sudden decline in security but rather a shift in how these long-existing flaws are reported and perceived.
The primary reason for the heightened attention on Linux security issues is its growing mainstream adoption. Historically, because Linux had a very small user base compared to Windows, it represented a limited attack surface that malicious actors largely ignored in favor of targeting the more prevalent Windows ecosystem. As Linux usage has expanded significantly over recent years, it now attracts more media coverage and scrutiny from content creators. Consequently, security flaws that have existed for decades are being discovered and reported with much greater frequency simply because there are more eyes on the system and a larger community actively monitoring it.
While increased attention brings opportunities for new developers to contribute to the Linux kernel and improve its stability, it also invites controversy and fear-mongering from those who wish to create sensational content. The speaker acknowledges that while security vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel are serious and should not be dismissed, blowing them out of proportion serves no constructive purpose. The video concludes by emphasizing that absolute security through technology is impossible; the only truly secure method would be to abandon technology entirely. Ultimately, the goal is to help viewers understand that Linux has always been a flawed system created by humans, and its current reputation for insecurity is largely a result of increased visibility rather than any new inherent weakness.
Read the full video transcript
So, if you've paid attention to any
Linux news over the course of the last
six months or so, you will have noticed
an increasing number of stories about
severe vulnerabilities found in the
Linux kernel. And this increased news
cycle of problems found within Linux has
led to a number of content creators
talking about how insecure Linux has
become.
And we can't really deny it, can we?
Several of these content creators have
gone so far as to say Linux is just as
insecure as Windows ever has been and
that you should just use Windows because
at least it has a major corporation
behind it. Now, far be it from me to
talk about the truth, but that's what
we're going to do today. So, I don't
know where people ever got the idea that
Linux was secure in the first place
because, and this is just the number one
truth. If you take nothing else away
from this video, this is what you should
take away from it. Linux is not secure.
It has never been secure. It's never
been claimed to be secure or even be
claimed to be more secure than Windows.
Is it more secure in Windows in some
places? Probably. But it has the same
flaws inherently that Windows does in
that it's created by human beings. As
much as we want to put Lionus Torvolts
up on a pedestal and and make him the
god of Linux, the man's still a man.
He's still a human being. And that being
the truth just comes with all the
inherent flaws that all humans have.
He's an imperfect person. And along with
every other Linux developer and Linux
kernel developer, they all have flaws.
Nobody's a perfect developer. They all
have the ability to write crappy code.
They all miss things just because that's
just the nature of coding.
That means that Linux, which is a
codebase of 30 million lines of code
written by humans, is going to have
flaws. And what do flaws mean? It means
security vulnerabilities. It's the same
as with Windows. Windows is a huge code
code base written by a whole bunch of
humans. It has flaws. Now, obviously the
big difference is that Linux is open.
Anybody can go in there and search for
these flaws and try to fix them, whereas
Windows is closed. So, these content
creators, and no, I'm not going to name
names. You can go find them pretty
easily, who come out and say Linux is
not secure are feeding you a false line
because Linux was never secure in the
first place. Linux has always been a
flawed operating system just like every
other operating system.
It's just the nature of being created by
humans. So really the question we have
to answer is why are we seeing more of
this? Why and and why are we hearing
more about the security flaws on Linux
than we ever were before? Because really
the reason why and we can explain the
behavior way. The reason why a lot of
people think Linux is more secure than
Windows is because for many years
relatively nobody actually used Linux,
right? The the the user base of
Linux was so small comparative to
Windows.
It wasn't a very big attack surface.
every big actor in terms of wanting to
gather data or money or ransomware,
whatever it is, would attack Windows
first because there's just so many
people who use Windows compared to
Linux. What's changed is more people are
using Linux. Linux is more mainstream
now today than it ever has been before.
Now, it has is it 90% of the the market?
No, of course not. It'll never get
there. But it continues to grow month
after month. More and more people are
are are using it. More and more media,
whether it's the independent media or
YouTubers, content creators,
influencers, you name it, are covering
Linux. Folks like Linus TechTips are
making Linux videos like twice or three
times a week now. It's kind of crazy.
And Linux is getting more and more
coverage. And what does more coverage
means? It means more attention on the
thing itself. And that means that when
we do have the security flaws which
we've always had, it gets covered more
by the people who are newly here on
Linux. And that leads to articles like,
"Oh my god, Linux is insecure." It's
always been insecure. We've we've had
these these discoveries of security
vulnerabilities are nothing new. If you
followed Feronx or any other Linux type
nerd blog, you can probably go back
every single week for the last 30 years
and find at least one minuscule security
flaw that was discovered in Linux
kernel. It's not a new thing. What's new
is that they're getting more attention
than ever before. Now, I have mixed
feelings about this. On one side, more
attention means more opportunities for
developers to come here and do work on
the Linux kernel. That is fantastic. We
need that. We desperately need that
because Lionus, despite the fact that he
is the Linux god, isn't going to live
forever, right? He's he is eventually
going to either retire or die. And that
means we're going to have to have
somebody to take over for him. And in
order for that to happen, we need new
blood. So I do think that the more
attention on this kind of stuff is very
good for that reason if not for many
others. On the other side of the thing,
more attention does bring more idiots.
Okay? It brings morons to the table and
they like to make mountains out of
mohills. Now, I'm not trying to tell you
that security vulnerabilities in the
Linux kernel are insignificant or
unimportant. What I'm trying to say is
that they're not anything new and
blowing them out of proportion does no
good. whatsoever. So, going into this
and create creating clickbait titles
like the one I'm no doubt going to leave
on this video here,
I'm just as guilty, but at least I'm you
know, you you click on mine, you're
going to get some truth out of it. You
I'm going to fool you into learning
something. I guess I I don't know. But
the the the point I'm trying to make is
that the more people it just brings out
the people who are interested in
creating controversy and creating fear,
uncertainty, and doubt. And that's just
the nature of having more attention on
something. It's just the bigger the
community, the more
colorful the edges are. So really,
that's all I have to say, but I just
want to make sure that people know this
for for for true. Linux has never been
secure. It just hasn't been. And it's it
it can't be. I don't know who said it.
There was a a famous quote that said,
"If you really want to be secure using
technology, the best way to to do it is
to shut off all technology and go live
in the woods." That's the only method
that that I know of to be truly secure.
And obviously, I don't want to do that.
I mean, Luke Smith is a fine guy, but I
really don't want to go live next to
him. I'm just I'm just saying that. So,
anyways, that's it for this one. If you
have any thoughts on this, you can leave
those in the comments section below. I'd
love to hear from you. Also, it feels
weird. I If you've watched this entire
video, I don't know if you noticed
something a little bit different. I'm
looking into the camera. Looking into
the camera. It's felt so weird. I've
been doing this for six years, guys.
I've been doing a YouTube channel for
six years. September of 2020 is when I
started this channel. September 5th, I
think. So, we're coming up. We're coming
up on six years. And I've never once
looked into the camera. and now I am and
it feels very odd. Uh, so it'll take a
while to get used to. Anyways, I did it.
I did it. I'm happy about it. Anyways,
comments in the comment section below.
If you want to comment on the camera
position, you can. You can follow me on
Massadon or Odyssey. Those links will be
in the video description. You can
support me on Patreon at
patreon.com/theinxcast.
You can also support me by going to my
merch store, which is at
linuxcast.store,
which is probably the URL I should give
out now. And you can get awesome merch
like this hat, the Linux nerd hat. I
also have one that just says nerd and
geek on it. There's t-shirts and hoodies
and backpacks and all sorts of stuff.
So, if you're interested in supporting
the channel and you want guess want to
get something in return, head to
linxcast.store and you can find all the
good stuff there. So, uh thanks to
everybody who does support me on Patreon
and YouTube. You guys are all absolutely
amazing. Without you, the channel just
not be anywhere near where it is right
now. So, thank you so very, very much.
Uh, I'm looking over here cuz I can
actually I have my monitor over here
where I can see myself. So, every once
in a while I will look over there and
like, man, this looks weird. This is
what I look like the whole damn time cuz
I used I used to This is the direction I
used to face. That's so weird. Okay,
look at the camera man. That's it for
this one. Thank you guys so much for
watching. I will see you on the next
one. Goodbye.