Microsoft developer Andres Freund prevented an IT security disaster. Security experts around the world are now analyzing the perpetrators' actions.
The previously unknown attackers had secretly provided the xz compression software with a backdoor that would have made it possible to compromise millions of systems under certain conditions. The case has drawn attention to the security of open-source programs, often developed by volunteers, which form the basis of the Internet's infrastructure due to their transparency and flexibility. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella congratulated him.