Posted on 07/15/2010 10:37:24 AM PDT by Zakeet
It seems absurd. Microsoft, America’s preeminent software maker, provides the operating system for more than 90% of the world’s computers — including those used by the U.S. Government.
Microsoft has always carefully protected the source code to its operating systems. In fact, a key distinction between the various Windows variants and open source OSs like Linux and BSD is that Linux and BSD are open source.
Microsoft protects its source code for a variety of reasons. One reason Microsoft doesn’t release its code is that its source code is the company’s crown jewels, it’s proprietary advantage.
Another is consistency. If the source code were made public, it might be possible for customers to “fork” the OS, leading to a wide variety of somewhat dissimilar “distros” of Windows.
But the prime reason is security. If its source code were made public, it might be easier for hackers to find vulnerabilities and exploit them — anything from breaking into systems to merely breaking to serial number validation process.
That’s why a little piece of news covered by ZDNet UK’s Tom Espiner is so astonishing.
According to Espiner, Microsoft has turned over all its source code for Windows 7, along with its source for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server to Russia’s Federal’naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii. The FSB is present-day Russia’s successor to the infamous Soviet-era KGB.
As has become quite apparent over the last week, Russia is far from out of the espionage business.
As Espiner reports, this is all about business, rather than state security. Microsoft has a Government Security Program where it allows governments access to its source code, ostensibly as part of the company’s various bids to sell software to international governments.
(Excerpt) Read more at zdnet.com ...
Oh wonderful. Let the Ruskies have it! LOL
Expect some terrific malware in the coming years after those Russian hackers get done with it!
I hope you are wrong, because 10 years without power would kill the economy deader than a dead thing thats dead!How long do you think it would take them to switch to a non-MS based solution?“Ten years and ten billion dollars (maybe more).”
Now that would have been a virtual gulag; forced to sift through Vista code.
Old news. The Chinese already got to see earlier versions.
Well on the other hand with out power it will probably take longer.
But it will be cheaper because labor will be cheaper.
Not very many jobs for IT techs when nobody has power to run their computers you know.
Faced with the prospect of being without power for 10 years, I am quite positive that they could do it in a week or less.
Pulling the rabbit out of the hat is a lot easier than most people realize ;)
Speaking realistically; I don’t even know if anyone writes PLC code for other OS’s.
Thanks
I learned something today (like everyday on FR).
"How about a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War?"
:-)
But I thought open source was communist? Oh, wait....
The Russkies have had that source for years.
Yeah, but see the difference here is that everybody has access to Linux source code. In this case MS is giving its source code to Russian business (I mean, unless you actually trust the Kremlin to honor US IP rights...) while it denies the same to US businesses.
Its a practical business decision based on the practical reality of having to work with countries run by totalitarian(ish) governments, I understand that. But lets not ignore that the Russians are getting things from MS that we are not.
If it wasn’t for the Godless communists who wrote linux, good, patriotic American companies like microsoft would not be forced to show their source code to anyone. You know, Linus’s parents were Card Carrying Communists. Squawk!
Just in case you missed it. :-)
Although sometimes I do wonder why he doesn't wander back here occasionally.
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