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by symtos 2978 days ago
> In case of Maven - and likely most others - packages are not even digitally signed by the publisher

Last time I explored the atrocious state of language-specific package managers, Maven Central was (and I'm guessing still is) the only language repo that requires that packages are signed [1][2].

Now, whether package signatures are verified on retrieval is another question... (they are not, unless you use a plugin such as pgpverify-maven-plugin [3]).

Obviously anybody with the private key can still introduce malicious code even if you verify your package signatures, but at least it's better than allowing any oppressive regime with a root CA trusted by Mozilla/Microsoft to MITM rust/python/npm/ruby/whatever packages downloaded by its residents.

[1] https://maven.apache.org/repository/guide-central-repository...

[2] http://central.sonatype.org/pages/working-with-pgp-signature...

[3] https://github.com/s4u/pgpverify-maven-plugin