The New York Times article “Did One Guy Just Stop a Huge Cyberattack?” chronicles the story of Andres Freund, a 38 year-old Nebraskan software engineer who discovered and eliminated a serious software security threat through meticulous observation and sheer luck.
The story of Freund shines a positive light on the open-source software community that is responsible for maintaining Linux. Linux is an operating system like Mac or Windows.
However, because it is open source, it is free to use, modify and share. Not to mention, the Linux mascot is a totally chill looking penguin that goes by the name of Tux.
Most technologists agree that Freund prevented the exploitation of a security vulnerability that would have derailed regular operations across the web. So, it is entirely appropriate, and ironic, the hero of the story refused to have his picture taken by the New York Times for the article.
Since Linux is free to use and share without advertisements or compromising user data, the Linux philosophy runs entirely contrary to the funding models of so-called free websites.
While many web technologies are freely available to use, for-profit platforms harness these technologies and market them in a variety of ways.
The attention economy, as it is called, refers to the process by which peoples’ attention acts as a valuable resource, with online platforms competing to capture and hold people’s attention for profit.
This concept recognizes attention as a form of currency, where online activity is manipulated and monetized through advertising. The folks that maintain Linux are privacy and security stalwarts, and it is characteristic of these developers to favor privacy and anonymity over the glitz and glamour of everyday social media.
The modern internet leverages state of the art algorithms that are propriety and closed to the public.
However, the attention economy relies on foundational web technology that is free and open to the world yet maintained by volunteer software developers who typically want nothing to do with the gigantic platforms like Facebook, Amazon, or TikTok.
Freund, the hobbyist software guru clearly does not relish the limelight, and we can look to him as a role model. Many would cherish the opportunity to be recognized for being the hero of the day. Yet, clearly he does not care for such attention.
Connection to the internet is considered an entitlement these days. Web technologies are akin to clean air and indoor plumbing.
Many do not understand the patchwork of technologies that are the foundation for their daily online rituals, and we do not notice anything amiss lest our lives become disrupted. Moreover, few can genuinely appreciate a technological threat until it is too late.
For the love of Tux, we all need to be more like Andres Freund: the paradoxical hero who saved the Internet but shunned the spotlight.
Dan Hahn can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
