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Vista: security by the NSA

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  • Vista: security by the NSA

    InfoWorld article....

    NSA helped Microsoft make Vista secure

    Revelations about NSA's involvement in Vista's development raise concerns about possible 'back-door' access to data by the spy agency

    The U.S. agency best known for eavesdropping on telephone calls had a hand in the development of Microsoft's Vista operating system, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday.

    The National Security Agency (NSA) stepped in to help Microsoft develop a configuration of its next-generation operating system that would meet U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) requirements, said NSA Spokesman Ken White.

    This is not the first time the secretive agency has been brought in to consult with private industry on operating system security, White said, but it is the first time the NSA has worked with a vendor prior to the release of an operating system.

    By getting involved early in the process, the NSA helped Microsoft ensure that it was delivering a product that was both secure and compatible with existing government software, he said.

    "This allows us to ensure that the off-the-shelf security configuration that the DOD customer receives is at a level that meets our standards," White said. "It just makes a lot more sense to be involved up-front, than it does to have the tail wag the dog."

    The NSA's involvement in Vista was first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post .
    >
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Not entirely surprising given MS has a history of consulting with the NSA on security issues.
    “And, remember: there's no 'I' in 'irony'” ~ Merlin Mann

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    • #3
      Security? For whom?
      There's an Opera in my macbook.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by az View Post
        Security? For whom?
        Job security for the NSA ofcourse
        If there's artificial intelligence, there's bound to be some artificial stupidity.

        Jeremy Clarkson "806 brake horsepower..and that on that limp wrist faerie liquid the Americans call petrol, if you run it on the more explosive jungle juice we have in Europe you'd be getting 850 brake horsepower..."

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        • #5
          Both the American and British governments (at least) requested backdoor entries into Vista. Of course they got them.

          Anyone who thinks they have privacy is silly! All travellers to the USA have their bank accounts (!) and email accounts (!!!!) checked for links to terrorist groups.

          In this country, it's a criminal offence to hide information that the police request - if you have encrypted data that they can't expose, and you don't give them the key, you are a criminal & possible terrorist.

          Stupid and sucky, but we voted for them

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