US Agencies get D in computer security

aquaticaquatic
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
http://www.computerworld.com/securit...,88030,00.html



When will the Pointy Haired Bosses in charge of spending in the US government decided to get MacOS X or Linux for security, as well as saving money in this economic downturn? I read that OS X has added a lot of security features expressly for goverment security ID purposes. Is the US Government getting more or less Macs these days, anyone working in the government have comments? Seems at least in the Corps they are going more and more Windows, at least in the Cold Regions and Research lab next to me in Hanover NH (near Dartmouth.)



The answer is so simple: ditch Windows! I like how in a recent debate Dean mentioned since the John Ashcroft would be resigning as of noon the day he takes office if elected, the administration would persue anti-trust legislation more. I take it they would look more carefully at security in relation to Windows as well. Many government agencies got many recent Windows viruses. It's the Pointy Haired Bosses with their laptops that make even the best firewall vulnerable.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    I don't doubt that OS X has superior security features...but what exactly are they? I don't have any third-party firewall software installed on my Mac, running 10.2 (online with high speed access), and I was told I did not need them. Correct? How am I protected?
  • Reply 2 of 3
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    There have been multiple articles and statistics showing Windows as having the worst security. UNIX and their derivatives are on top. That includes OS X. Have you noticed that MS releases patches almost every day? Have you noticed they take months to address problems? Have you seen how quickly Apple responds to even trivial security problems, like the Screen Effects password bug. The media likes to trumpet even small things like that on Mac, but even still just look at how many problems Windows has. It has who knows how many viruses, for example, and OS X doesn't have a single one. Macs make security so easy, for example with Open Firmware Password someone will be hard pressed to use your PowerBook even if they steal it! And supposed they take the drive out? FileVault. Just quick examples, I'm sure you can think of more. Bottom line, the government would be more secure if it used Macs because of the open source nature of most of the OS, the better support from the company, the structure of the system with UNIX permissions, the lack of viruses, FileVault, the new government ID log in features, the list goes on. The Army uses Macs for their page because they are more secure. I wonder how many problems they have had since Switching? But of course there is no substitute for properly trained employees, but the proper equipment goes a long way.





    Yes you are correct you don't need 3rd party firewalls. Go in to the Network Preferences pane to turn on MacOS X's built in FireWall. Which reminds me of another difference: Windows by default has a lot of ports and services open, OS X doesn't.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    Are you suggesting there's a coincidence in the fact that the current administration and Ashcroft let Microsoft off the hook for their anti-trust violations, then awarded the Homeland Security contract to MS, and now softballs the news of a failing grade on security?



    Should we be shocked? ... oh wait... it's not cronyism or campaign finance related is it?
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