WW3 By Mistake

[bitchstewie]

A cheerful but fascinating read for Boxing Day.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/world-war-...
http://www.minutemanmissile.com/

[Sylvaforever]

bhstewie said:

A cheerful but fascinating read for Boxing Day.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/world-war-...
http://www.minutemanmissile.com/

Damn you crazy bargain hunter[s]!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glsCBBDBwZw

action starts at 11:30 if you just can't wait

[Benni]

I did not know that Windows has special editions :

[b]Lord Des Browne, a former U.K. Minister of Defense, is concerned that even ballistic-missile submarines may be compromised by malware.
Browne is now the vice-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit seeking to reduce the danger posed by weapons of mass destruction,
where he heads a task force examining the risk of cyberattacks on nuclear command-and-control systems.
Browne thinks that the cyber threat is being cavalierly dismissed by many in power.
The Royal Navy’s decision to save money by using Windows for Submarines, a version of Windows XP,
as the operating system for its ballistic-missile subs seems especially shortsighted.
Windows XP was discontinued six years ago, and Microsoft warned that any computer running it after April, 2014,
“should not be considered protected as there will be no security updates.”
Each of the U.K. subs has eight missiles carrying a total of forty nuclear weapons.
“It is shocking to think that my home computer is probably running a newer version of Windows than the U.K.’s military submarines,” Brown said.[/b]

[TheRainMaker]

Is a subs nuclear weapon system connected to the internet?

[chuntington101]

TheRainMaker said:

Is a subs nuclear weapon system connected to the internet?

No! The MOD system are on their own network I think! However it's still on an old operating system that has security holes in it! The biggest problem for people in IT is not massive network attacks from China (well that is a risk for some people) via the Internet but people plugging stuff in (USB sticks, CDs, mobiles etc) and emails.

its worth noting that when you book a holiday that system is still DOS based I think. Also most cash machine you use are on windows XP. Also would dread to think what OS the banks are using these days. Bet it's not windows 10 that's for sure!!

I don't think people should worry that the MOD is going to get hacked by some spotty kid sat in his bedroom. But it does mean that the MOD need to take extra care of their 'assets' and where they are / who has access. This is much harder I'm sure when in a war. But other enermy getting hold of your coms/ IT kit and finding holes in it could cause you some headaches!

[Simpo Two]

Benni said:

Windows XP was discontinued six years ago, and Microsoft warned that any computer running it after April, 2014, “should not be considered protected as there will be no security updates.”

I find it hard to believe that the MoD would protect its computer systems and the defence of the realm by simply downloading updates from Microsoft.

Benni said:

“It is shocking to think that my home computer is probably running a newer version of Windows than the U.K.’s military submarines,” Brown said.[/b]

Of course it is. Military and commercial stuff always lags behind what you can buy in PC World because it takes much longer to develop.

Brown sounds a bit of a twit to me, comparing home computers to defence systems.