I am a long-time NoScript extension (https://noscript.net/) user. For those who don’t know this automatically blocks any javascript and let you accept them (temporarily or permanently) based on the scripts’ origin domain.

NoScript as some quality-of-life option like ‘accepting script from current page’s domain by default’ so only 3rd parties would be blocked (usefull in mobile where it is tedious to go to the menu).

When I saw LibreJS (https://www.gnu.org/software/librejs/) I though that would be a better version of NoScript but it is quiet different in usage and cares about license and not open-source code (maybe it can’t).

Am I the only one who thought about checking for open-source JS scripts filtering (at least by default)? This would require reproducibility of ‘compilation’/packaging. I think with lock files (npm, yarn, etc) this could be doable and we could have some automatic checks for code.

Maybe the trust system for who checks could be a problem. I wanted to discuss this matter for a while.

  • setVeryLoud(true);
    3·
    4 months ago

    I’m a full-stack software developer working in the financial sector, their statement is factual.

    Companies will never want to take on liability that has the potential to bankrupt them. It is in their best interest to not reveal the version of libraries they are using as some versions may have publicly known vulnerabilities, and it would make it incredibly easy for attackers to build an exploit chain if they knew the exact versions being used.

    Securing client code is just as important as securing server code, as you don’t want to expose your users to potential XSS attacks that could affect the way the page gets displayed, or worse, leak their credentials to a third party. If this happened in the EU or some parts of Canada, and it’s been found that the company reduced their threat model “for the sake of openness”, they would likely be fined into bankruptcy or forced to leave the market.

    Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where your interests and ethics will never be aligned with those of service owners as they are held to a certain standard by privacy laws and other regulations.