# Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as essential reading on why binary blobs and hidden compiler backdoors are a real problem, and why auditing all source is unfeasible.

## Why people recommend it

- Recommended reading for anyone in technology (4 comments): "More people should read that Ken Thompson piece about backdooring the original C compiler" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48640390)) "I highly recommend you read it if this is something that interests you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47268955)) "The Thompson paper is a great reference, thanks." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46901833))
- Explains compiler backdoor and binary risk (2 comments): "Read Reflections on Trusting Trust to understand why having little bits of binary blobs sprinkled all over your compute arch is actually a major problem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46044530)) "More people should read that Ken Thompson piece about backdooring the original C compiler" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48640390))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Programming as Theory Building by Peter Naur](https://hackerapproved.com/p/programming-as-theory-building.md): 32 recommend
- [Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ur-fascism.md): 18 recommend
- [Politics and the English Language by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/politics-and-the-english-language.md): 14 recommend
- [Right to Read by Richard Stallman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/right-to-read.md): 12 recommend
- [Meditations on Moloch by Scott Alexander](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations-on-moloch.md): 11 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson", https://hackerapproved.com/p/reflections-on-trusting-trust/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).