I have seen quite a few articles on PROMIS. Plus one book, years ago. Most of them are just confused, failing to make a point, instead meandering through endless "who kne whom" chains conspirationists love so much.
This one is crap.
For anyone with a shred of knowledge on software engineering and computer technology this doesn't pass the smell test. A case management software from the early eigties might have had some neat features, but absolutely nothing you could have built back then could not be replicated today with a fraction of effort - and much more powerful tools.
The basic gist of the PROMIS story is that they ripped of the company that built it, and in turn passed it around - trojanned - on the black market. Maybe. Very maybye, this might have been remotely possible, back then (even though the idea alone is a bit naive - software is so much more than just object code). But Saddam ? Bin Laden ? Modern Russian services ? Give me a break - this shit comes straight from the buzzword generator of someone who still has a vested legal/financial interest in the issue. Especially the russians have so much better and cheaper personnel resources at hand for software engineering, the last thing they need is an early 80's case amanegemnt system that ran on obsolete hardware nobody buys any more.
The only reason this thing still appears to live is that soemone tries to keep it alive.
good points
It's written for people who think that the movie rendition of hacking (long-haired teenager with multiple body piercings types something on the keyboard and says "I'm in!" as gothic music plays in the background) is reality.
"The only reason this thing still appears to live is that soemone tries to keep it alive."
Well put.
Aside from this article being crap, I haven't seen anything to contradict the fact that the government stole the software, lost in court and was ordered to pay, and never paid. Am I wrong?