In 1984 computer pioneer Ken Thompson wrote one of the seminal works of computer security, Reflections on Trusting Trust [PDF]. In it he postulated putting a trojan horse inside a compiler as a means of infecting software compiled by it. 25 years later somebody has finally done just that. Researchers at anti-virus house Sophos have discovered a virus that places a backdoor into applications compiled with the Delphi language. They've identified at least 3000 separate Delphi applications that have had this backdoor compiled into them so far, including banking programs and programs used for cellphone programming.
posted by scalefree on Aug 20, 2009 - 52 comments

How to manipulate groupthink: Create a group participation technique that looks and sounds equitable and solicits feedback. Use the feedback to isolate leaders, loudmouths, pushovers and those who agree or disagree with your hidden agenda. Set these groups against each other until your hidden agenda moves from a subject for debate to a principle accepted as true that frames the debate. Start a cable channel! Hope America doesn't learn how to fight back.
posted by basilwhite on Jan 27, 2005 - 16 comments

The Sybli's raving mouth, according to Heraclitus, speaks without mirth or adornment or perfume: with the help of the god her voice continues for a thousand years: Plutarch - Why The Pythia No Longer Prophesies In Verse... So, what kinda gas was she huffin'? The Sybil on solvents--an archeological update on the Oracle of Delphi (NYT: you know the drill...)
posted by y2karl on Mar 19, 2002 - 7 comments

Yes!!! Delphi has answered my wishes, and released a CD player for the car that can decode MP3s burned onto CDRs. Over 10 hours of CD quality music on a single disk, without the need for a pesky changer. I'm buying the first one that comes off the line. Here's their press release about it.
posted by mathowie on Jan 12, 2000 - 0 comments