Posted on 05/11/2010 5:27:57 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
In response to the continuous compromise of networks, multiple countries have begun developing secure platforms and operating systems. Computer companies, university researchers, defense R&D contractors and militaries around the world recognize the criticality of networks and embedded processors within their equipment. They also recognize how vulnerable they are and that’s why so much attention is being given to building in security at every level of the system including the operating system.
As discussed here, China’s Trusted Computing Platform (TCP) program has been underway for some time now and can be traced back to the early 2000s. The Chinese TCP includes multiple layers of built-in security, as well as trusted computing components at the chip operating system level and the machine operating system level.
European Union Early in 2009 a Dutch university was awarded a grant for $3.3 million from the European Research Council to fund 5 more years of work on a Unix derivative version operating system called Minix. This research effort is designed to be more resilient and secure than either Linus or Windows. The most impressive feature in Minix is said to be its self healing feature. This is believed to be the first operating system with the capable of fixing itself when a bug is detected.
Australia One of the more recent secure operating systems in the world is the Secure Microkernel Project (seL4). Late in 2009 NICTA announced that it has completed the formal verification of the seL4 kernel. It is believed that this makes seL4 the world’s first general purpose OS kernel with a formal mathematical proof that the implementation does what the specification says. The proof is machine checked and one of the largest ever done.
(Excerpt) Read more at defensetech.org ...
My father bought me an abacus for my 5th birthday. In fact, I still have it. When some NK or Chinese fires a EMP burst I guess we will have to return to using a abacus.
I went high tech - I got a slide rule.
I still have my slide rule too. I prefer that to a calculator.
Need to set things up so that the hardware and installed software never is directly accessed by the users or network. Set it up as a virtual O/S that is not accessible by the outside because under the virtual system software the virtual O/S never directly accesses hardware or network ports. If the virtual machine O/S somehow does get infected or corrupted, simply shut it down and restart the virtual O/S. That part of the hard drive never touches the actual software of the bios or O/S software.
Very good points!
I got pretty good with one of those when I was stationed on Okinawa in 1970. When I went to the counter in a store I and the clerk would place our bead frames on the counter and both would tot up the items to be purchased and each present the abacus with the finished calculation for the other to inspect. If they agreed the clerk punched it into the cash register and the transaction was complete. If they disagreed then we both flicked the beads again until agreement.
My first Tandy computer had DOS 2.11 built into ROM. Probably PROM, but it was pretty secure.
Put the operating system on a read-only card and plug it into the Mobo.
I remember that 16 bits were a big thing.
bflr
Good to know. Really.
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