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Government spooks helped Microsoft build Vista
The Inquirer ^ | Jan 9 2007 | Nick Farrell

Posted on 01/11/2007 1:47:57 PM PST by bigdcaldavis

THE USA GOVERNMENT'S cryptologic organisation, the National Security Agency, has admitted that it is behind some of the security changes to Microsoft's operating system Vista.

According to the Washington Post, the agency which was once so secret that it was jokingly referred to as 'No such Agency' has admitted making 'unspecified contributions' to Vista.

Tony Sager, the NSA's chief of vulnerability analysis and operations group, told the Post that it was the agency's intention to help everyone these days.

The NSA used a red and a blue team to pull apart the software. The red team posed as "the determined, technically competent adversary" to disrupt, corrupt or steal information. The Blue team helped Defense Department system administrators with Vista's configuration.

Vole said that it has sought help from the NSA over the last four years. Apparently its skills can be seen in the Windows XP consumer version and the Windows Server 2003 for corporate customers.

The assistance is at the US taxpayers' expense, although the NSA says it all makes perfect sense. Not only is the NSA protecting United States business, its own Defense Department uses VoleWare so it is in the government's interest to make sure it is as secure as possible.

Microsoft is not the only one to tap the spooks. Apple, with its Mac OSX operating system, and Novell with its SUSE Linux also asked the NSA what it thought of their products. The NSA is quite good at finding weapons of mass destruction that are not there.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: microsoft; nsa; vista; windows

1 posted on 01/11/2007 1:48:02 PM PST by bigdcaldavis
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To: bigdcaldavis

backdoors installed so 'fixes' won't muck them up later on


2 posted on 01/11/2007 1:53:21 PM PST by Sax
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To: bigdcaldavis

Consider the source.


3 posted on 01/11/2007 1:59:37 PM PST by Ben Mugged (Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.)
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To: bigdcaldavis

What's that last line all about?

"The NSA is quite good at finding weapons of mass destruction that are not there."

Huh?

Regards,
Star Traveler


4 posted on 01/11/2007 2:03:04 PM PST by Star Traveler
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To: Star Traveler

There's No Such Agency.


5 posted on 01/11/2007 2:26:20 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (BTUs are my Beat.)
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To: bigdcaldavis

If the Red team didn't have an endless supply of hot pockets, they surely missed something.


6 posted on 01/11/2007 2:32:33 PM PST by Sgt_Schultze
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

You said -- "There's No Such Agency."

Ahhh..., you mean "No Such Agency" finding "No Such Weapons"....

:-0

Regards,
Star Traveler


7 posted on 01/11/2007 2:37:32 PM PST by Star Traveler
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To: bigdcaldavis

If the NSA really contributed to Vista's security, it was most likely in the form of a "backdoor" to allow them to come in and look around any time they want.


8 posted on 01/11/2007 3:04:15 PM PST by 3niner (War is one game where the home team always loses.)
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To: 3niner

Another good reason to switch to UBUNTU!


9 posted on 01/11/2007 3:29:24 PM PST by Abcdefg
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Comment #10 Removed by Moderator

To: rdb3; chance33_98; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; Bush2000; PenguinWry; GodGunsandGuts; CyberCowboy777; ...

11 posted on 01/11/2007 6:54:59 PM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: bigdcaldavis
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
12 posted on 01/11/2007 7:05:49 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: bigdcaldavis

Removing the tin hat, it's more likely that the government was involved in order to hasten certification for Vista's use within the government. In general, it should result in a more secure system. Remember, the NSA isn't just the spooks, but the guys mostly responsible for setting the standards for computer security in the government.


13 posted on 01/11/2007 7:25:44 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: Star Traveler

Many years ago, my dad was stationed overseas with the State Department in Asia. One of his lodge buddies in Tokyo was with the NSA. Anytime anyone would ask about the NSA, he would answer "...there is No Such Agency."


14 posted on 01/11/2007 8:03:56 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (BTUs are my Beat.)
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To: 3niner
You really gotta cut back on reading the NY Slimes. If you know anything about the NSA, and anything about Microsoft, you know that A) the NSA can't just hack any machine due to the various amounts of regulations it follows, and B) Its WINDOWS, its already hacked once you open the box! C) It seems that you trust Bill Gates more than the government, scary.
Besides I'd wager you that a large portion of the Freerepublic is working at NSA. I myself trust Freepers over Bill Gates any day.
15 posted on 01/23/2007 3:25:46 AM PST by CompSciGuy (Holy Father isn't time to reconstitute the Templars?)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

That must have gotten annoying real quick.


16 posted on 01/23/2007 3:32:07 AM PST by Caesar Soze
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