150
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2023
150 points (97.5% liked)
Technology
34893 readers
747 users here now
This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.
Ask in DM before posting product reviews or ads. All such posts otherwise are subject to removal.
Rules:
1: All Lemmy rules apply
2: Do not post low effort posts
3: NEVER post naziped*gore stuff
4: Always post article URLs or their archived version URLs as sources, NOT screenshots. Help the blind users.
5: personal rants of Big Tech CEOs like Elon Musk are unwelcome (does not include posts about their companies affecting wide range of people)
6: no advertisement posts unless verified as legitimate and non-exploitative/non-consumerist
7: crypto related posts, unless essential, are disallowed
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
I can't with this article... there's a very legitimate argument to be made here, but instead they are whining that stuff stopped working after an iOS update. If you're running something life-critical you do not install every single update the moment it comes out.
I couldn't disagree more with you. If you are running something REAL life critical the moment there is a patch you install it and deploy as fast as possible. And if it contains any severe patch it is even the vendor who recalls all the equipment with service bulletin and advisory letters.
With life critical you don't wait the bug to appear because It maybe too late to avoid deadly consequences.
No. If you're working with life-critical systems, you only apply patches that are relevant to you. For example, an implantable insulin pump with Bluetooth capability. If there's a patch that changes the Bluetooth functionality, but you don't use that functionality, there's no point in applying the patch.
Oh yes, why would I apply a security patch for Bluetooth which I don't even use, on my life-supporting device which someone else could connect to via Bluetooth without me knowing or noticing?
What you are saying is far from reality. Most patches only state vague stuff like "security" or "Bluetooth".
How would you know, what those mean? Bluetooth could be "Hey, you can now monitor even more with your app" or "fixed some big holes in the chips security which made it hack able via Bluetooth".
You say it's far from reality, but I'm speaking from experience. I was responsible for maritime life safety systems. When those systems were implemented, they were tested and qualified for use. It didn't matter how many updates came out, if they weren't qualified, they didn't get deployed. If I had deployed an update that hadn't been qualified, it would have put lives at risk, such as by causing issues with ship detection or man overboard alerts not going off.
If you want to get really into it, like the systems that run aircraft and nuclear reactors, look up formal verification.
Okay,so you are talking professional equipment with software patches to be applied by professionals.
The article (and also the comments as I understood them) was about end users updating software themselves. Those are two very different things.
Yes, we also only update needed patches on systems we handle, but as an end user I do not check all updates that I apply on my private PC.
Why would I?
Yes you do,
Configuration control is a max in this world and you don't have the control/ability/power to decide which patches go in or stay out. The vendor, the person who has all the power and knowledge, is the one who decides.
You can loose all your certifications or being held liable for any problem due to that policy.
Not even red hat (certainly not a life critical system) allows a different level of patches/state out of their approved ones
Then we disagree. Think about it, you're patching the OS so what you now have is an untested configuration, and you've replaced a working system to get there, on the theory that you might be preventing an unknown bug in the future.
In one instance the vendor even explicitly recommends disabling OS updates until they have tested them.