Linux distributions don't depend on running random code from GitHub repositories like Homebrew does, it has package repositories. If those package repositories are compromised, Homebrew isn't going to save you, because you won't be able to trust your system at all at that point.
If you can't trust the software you're installing, it makes much more sense to run it in unprivileged containers or VMs than relying on account-level security. If a malicious package is distributed via Homebrew, it can still do a lot of damage running as your current user, as any data or resource accessible to your user can be exploited or exfiltrated.
If you can't trust the software you're installing, it makes much more sense to run it in unprivileged containers or VMs than relying on account-level security. If a malicious package is distributed via Homebrew, it can still do a lot of damage running as your current user, as any data or resource accessible to your user can be exploited or exfiltrated.
I tend to agree with what another HN member wrote about sudo/root and Homebrew: https://saagarjha.com/blog/2019/04/26/thoughts-on-macos-pack...