Criticize grsecurity? Get sued.

Friday, August 4th, 2017

Thinking about using the grsecurity linux kernel hardening patches? Better check with your legal team. Not only are they likely violating the GPLv2 with their patch-set, but if you point out that, in your opinion, they are violating the GPLv2, they’ll sue you. And not only you, but anybody that is even remotely involved in anything you’ve ever done:

Grsecurity sued [Bruce Perens], his web host, and as-yet-unidentified defendants who may have helped him draft that post, for defamation and business interference.

Meanwhile, Rohit Chhabra, Grsecurity’s attorney, said in an email to The Register:

Mr Perens has made false statements, claiming them to be facts, 

Naturally their case is completely ludicrous since software licenses (and basically every law in existence) has always been open to interpretation. Which is why we have courts and judges and such. I fail to see how Perens’ interpreting the GPLv2 and concluding that grsecurity is in violation of it constitutes as fact. It is almost by definition an opinion.

So you may want to avoid using grsecurity if Perens thinks it violates the GPLv2, since Perens is a bit of an extreme expert at the GPL. Further more, you probably want to avoid it since it’s likely Grsecurity (the company) will sue you if you sneeze too loudly during one of their presentations or something. And finally, you probably want to avoid it since the arbiter of All Things Linux, Linus Torvalds, says it’s garbage:

Don’t bother with grsecurity.

Their approach has always been “we don’t care if we break anything, we’ll just claim it’s because we’re extra secure”.

The thing is a joke, and they are clowns. When they started talking about people taking advantage of them, I stopped trying to be polite about their bullshit.

Their patches are pure garbage.

Linus

Since they haven’t sued Torvarlds yet, I’m guessing that “Their patches are pure garbage” is based on actual facts, if we are to believe Rohit Chhabra.

Update: Chhabra’s law firm looks like nothing more than yet another firm for patent trolls. To quote their website: “Chhabra®:Attorneys |Patent| Trademark| Copyright| Litigation”