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The sensitive ones are already on complete, separate secure networks. No connection to the Internet whatsoever. Still not immune from inside attack but at least the intruder will have to be someone you know and can lay hands on as opposed to a PRC-financed, directed, and supervised cell in China.

What we are dealing with in these hacking attacks are Defense Department networks that have been deliberately provided access to the Internet for all of the convenience it provides. By doing this, the government doesnot have to duplicate all of the communication infrastructure that already exists in the Internet. In addition, there is a lot of open source material on the Internet that the government wants easy access to. In a way, it is sort of like connecting to the public telephone system or using wireless networks. They are open systems anyone, including those with malicious intent, can connect to. Protection against these types of intrusion comes from the security measures you adopt at the threshold of your computer/network-to-Internet connection point and the layers of defense you put up around the more sensitive parts of your system and the data stored on it.

Unfortunately, most of the government is wedded (welded might be a better term) to the Microsoft family of operating systems and the applications based on it. This is a fork in the government computing and network deployment road taken nearly 25 years ago. Like it or not, until the government concludes it really needs something better and someone will build it for them, the compelling massiveness of the government's use of Microsoft's systems is going to dictate its use by a lot of commercial companies and private users (including yours truly). In the mean time, it will continue to provide a lot of opportunity for hacking attacks due to the numerous and severe flaws in its security.

(At this point, I invite the Apple users to remind us, ONE MORE TIME, of the vastly superior security of the Apple family of operating systems. Right after that, they can explain why Apple computers have to continue to cost so much more than PCs. (Outside of pure greed, that is.))

At this point, I invite the Apple users to remind us, ONE MORE TIME, of the vastly superior security of the Apple family of operating systems. Right after that, they can explain why Apple computers have to continue to cost so much more than PCs. (Outside of pure greed, that is.)

You're hereby reminded as requested. Most Mac users don't even feel the need to run antivirus software. If you're happy with Windows, though, more power to ya'.

As to their cost, current Macs are about on par with mid- and high-end PCs having equivalent specs. What aren't available from Apple are stripped-down entry-level machines priced as loss leaders.