back to article Malicious PyPI package found posing as a SentinelOne SDK

Threat researchers have found a rapidly updated malicious Python package on PyPI masquerading as a legitimate software-development kit (SDK) from cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, but actually contains malware designed to exfiltrate data from infected systems. The package, which carried the name SentinelOne and has since been …

  1. Version 1.0 Silver badge
    Pirate

    Python is great but ...

    ...as Python develops in future will this become more common? At least it's a confirmation that Python is universally popular these days.

    I guess Python is far more popular now than COBOL or FORTRAN, I've never seen any malware or infections written in either of those languages - so if the modern environment doesn't change maybe we should return to the days when languages didn't support all of today's problems? I wouldn't be happy about that, but maybe we could be a hell of a lot safer.

    1. that one in the corner Silver badge

      Re: Python is great but ...

      > we should return to the days when languages didn't support all of today's problems?

      Like, being able to read files and access a network?

      The problem here has nothing to do with which language is being used - it is purely about being too trusting of unknown code (specifically, an unverified owner) and running it in an environment that allows it to succeed in doing Bad Things.

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Python is great but ...

          Except it is unfairly a language problem if the language readily uses such acquisition methods.

          NPM, PyPI, crates, etc. have all become language problems because they have accepted them as common utilities of the language. Just because they're online doesn't mean there any different of a problem than say a possible bug/exploit in the offline C stand library. If it's accepted as a utility, it is.

          As for PyPi in particular, shit... Guido himself is the president of PyPi!! Are you suuuuure it can't be considered part of the language?

          1. Claptrap314 Silver badge

            Re: Python is great but ...

            Yes.

            It is part of the language if it ships as part of the language. Otherwise, no. Ruby is going through a significant evolution to drop things from the standard library because no one wants to support the packages. They are being spun out as gems on rubygems.org, and I don't care if Matz himself 100% owns the operation, it is still not going to be part of ruby proper.

            These sites, starting with CPAN, have ALWAYS have a core problem of trust when you download the code. But there is a difference between the site itself being insecure (as has happened), and packages maintainers failing to secure their packages (as has happened), and packages are created corrupt (which is what we are talking about here).

            Certainly, site owners must up their game wrt these drive-by corrupt packages. Tell me, just how much do YOU pay them to do that when you download code from their sites?

    2. lephuong

      Re: Python is great but ...

      Supply chain attack is the problem of "package distribution", not a language problem. If there is a website that provides COBOL or FORTRAN modules for everybody to re-use, it would have the same issue.

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