We all live in a Windows submarine...
Summary: MPs and security experts are attacking the government for its decision to use Windows 2000 on its submarines
The British government is defending its decision to implement Microsoft Windows 2000 on some of its Navy fleet.
MPs and security experts have asked Ministry of Defence (MoD) minister Geoff Hoon to explain why the department has chosen to use the operating system on some of its submarines and ships instead of Unix.
The MoD has so far implemented Windows 2000 on its Type 45 Destroyer ship and some Trafalgar type submarines, but denied it has taken any decision to use it on its new nuclear submarine -- the Vanguard.
"It's not like we load everything with Windows and off we go," said a spokesman for the MoD. "There is a lengthy testing period with this. We're satisfied that [Windows 2000] is safe, secure and will perform appropriately. It has gone through independent evaluation against the strictest of criteria."
"The safety of all our nuclear submarines is of paramount importance and we would not introduce a system on board that would jeopardise their safety."
Security experts, including one ex-army professional, contacted the Liberal Democrats when they heard about the government's decision. The Liberal Democrats have written to Hoon's department asking for its reasons for using Windows 2000.
"We are concerned," said Matt Waldman, defence advisor to the Liberal Democrats. "Windows is not known for being a secure system, and we want to know if it's sustainable for the Type 45 Destroyers and Vanguard Destroyers. We want to see evidence why they have not used an alternative system for protection against hackers. We want answers and we want them quickly. Particularly in the context of ever more sophisticated terrorists with more money behind them."
The MoD said it was also implementing 'middleware' to protect its system. But security experts criticised its actions.
"Middleware could be anything -- it could be a firewall or an element of the software, and that's only as secure as it's configured," said director of security for Whitehat UK Jason Hart. "I think it's crazy that a Ministry of Defence spokesman has said that Windows 2000 is being used on a variety of ships. From a risk point of view that's like saying 'Hello world, we're using Windows.'"
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Talkback
Our nuclear deterrent, from Polaris to Trident has always used American missiles, so a couple of Windows computers isn't exactly going to mean we hand our secrets over to the Americans. I imagine the majority of the country's defence work is done, like everything else, on American-powered computers - Intel, SG, Cray, Microsoft, Unix etc etc etc
To the Lib Dem's senior defence advisor:
Who on earth told you that Vanguard was a destroyer. If your lot ever get in power, we'll have trouble in the event of a crisis when you try and send a submarine to provide air defences - Vanguard is a ballistic missile submarine.
Trusting any Microsoft product where lives are at stake is extremely short sighted.
Wasn't the FAA's nearly catastrophic loss of communications between controllers and aircraft due to the replacement of a working Unix system with a Microsoft based system?
Microsoft political payola to get their systems on British warships must be funding the re-election hopes for these ignorant Microsoft functionaries.
The same people that are quick to inform the world they're now on Windows are also the last ones to tell you about the aftermath. Or even what strange reasoning they followed to come to their decisions in the first place. Let alone the quality and reality of the acceptance tests involved. Do we smell a future cover-up here?
As such I would strongly recommend a full scale investigation by truly independant people that do know what they're talking about.
If anything, just to assure the people there's nothing to be worried about. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if it turns out to be the case that this whole project was inspired by some external and misinformed (unexperienced) chap with a strong commercial motivation towards his own employer.
and now It will be possible to declare war to UK without risk , the ships will be destroyed itself
may be M$ is a massive weapon ?
Bill Gates is the second largest shareholder of teh ship builder and that is how MS is getting its foothold in the defense world.
BEA sacked one of its department heads due to the man prefering Linux than MS when it came to replacing Unix on our defense grid.
But as always, you can't tell the Labour government they seem to know everything, look at Hoon, can you really trust that man, especially when he declared that he didn't know Doctor David Kelly, but forgot to mention that he had many times had lunch with the man and also acknowledged that Dr David Kelly was a man who tinkered with machinery.
You can't have independant advisors who know what they are talking about as the resulting report would not reflect the real situation and how successful the project was.
so long as they are running a non MS firewall and switch off all the default services. Or just never switch the box on in a hostile enviroment....
I wonder if the paperclip and sniffer dog will get a new uniform? - I see you are about to lauch a cruise missle would you like to use a wizard to simplify the task?
Is this rumour true?
Thats not hard to prove. Just look at the virus front. nearly 100 000 comparing to 1 for MAC OS X and around 40 for Linux.
To trust on Windows is just the same to put the trust on a blind gatekeeper. And this gatekeeper whil manage nuclear submarines. I would fire everyone that is for this idea.
bundle the special bonus pack "MoD Plus!" including "DiveSimulator" into Win2K.
Better yet - 2k3 Server - that way you can remotely reboot your boat. It would be like having a remote car starter.
It spent 2 days drifting around in the Irish sea - presumably the pc support guy was hanging on the phone to MS Support all that time...
Don't forget that Explorer is a core windows component and it could not be removed from the system.
Why don't you use assembler!
You can't trust complex operating system which already has 68000 viruses. I thing that for military purposes systems should be written from scratch.
Noone in fleet needs Media Player or Minesweeper. Or do they?
The system is too complex to disable all it's features.
Don't even think to use Windows - haven't you learned the lessons in your life.
Sorry for my bad English. I hope that you will not cause a war - monkey with big ears in parlament.
So if the Windows 2000 in question was installed by IT "consultants" from the UK it's absolutely no surprise that it's full of holes. One wonders if the shysters left essential security settings unfinished in the false belief that they'd be called back and paid more to make it all work. This too should be no surprise.