
How One Developer's Slow Computer Exposed a Nation-State Linux Attack
Published: July 27, 2026
Duration: 12:17
What happens when a developer's slightly slow computer saves the entire internet? In this episode, Daniel Torres breaks down one of the most sophisticated cyberattacks ever attempted - and how pure luck stopped it from succeeding.
On Proof Positive, we dive into the XZ backdoor incident, where a Microsoft developer named Andres Freund noticed his SSH logins taking just 500 milliseconds longer than usual. That tiny delay exposed a nation-state attack that took over two years to orchestrate and could have compromised millions of Linux servers worldwide. You'll learn how attackers spent years gaining trust in the open-source community, why XZ...