Microsofts OS a threat to National Security?

[Red_Asphalt]

OMG, I could'nt beleive this:

A recently published report from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) claims that "Microsoft's monopoly of the desktop operating system market is a threat to our national security." The paper has understandably created quite a bit of fuss -- so much, in fact, that Daniel Geer, former CTO of @Stake, reportedly received the aforementioned designation of "former" as a result of his co-authoring the paper.

Heres the full article http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/190

NSA is at it again.
-Kris

[Alphaflux]

wow, although i am not fully suprised, it does come as some what of a shock, i have used microsoft products for a number of years and have only recently began to use open source OS's like linux and such, but as i said before, this does not come as a complete shock, as i have read many times before, microsofts OS's are litter'd with security holes, thus making them vurnerable.

[Red_Asphalt]

Yes, every OS is going to have security holes, it is inevitable. No matter how much time someone spends on making something secure, someone is going to spend that much more time trying to make in unsecure and exploit it. It's just the fate of software.

[crashburn181]

what do you think the world would be like if the gov't. regulated software

"hell on earth"

[Red_Asphalt]

LOL, declaring it a threat to national security is getting a step closer. That's how our Gov't works, they step slowly, and then they slap on ridiclulous laws that could potentually impend our freedoms. IMHO. The headlines "Windows XP- Tool of the Terrorists!" "Bill Gates the head of International Terror Organization!"

[catch]

Is it just me, are does the fact that open source supporters are looking to the government to fight for them strike anyone else as not only anti-thematic but just a straight dirty trick?

I guess I misunderstood what open source was really about.

catch

[Red_Asphalt]

I never though of it in that light. But you do have a very valid point. Does anyone else smell conspiracy?

[theuser]

I feel that the fact that Windows is the most popular OS is the reason for this conclusion. If Linux had the kind of market share that Microsoft does, then the situation would be reversed, with Linux being declared a threat to National Security. I feel that monopolies are bad for everyone in nearly every case... ie: Standard Oil, AT&T, etc, etc. They increase prices, and stagnate development. In summary, Microsoft is a comparitively secure OS, and if any other OS had the same share of the market, they would be criticized in the same way.

[Red_Asphalt]

I don't know if I agree with that totally. I'll leave this for someone with more OS knowledge to answer. But you do have some points.

[disc0rd]

I think Microsoft gets a pretty bad rap because they are highly publicized. People have to realize that any operating system that is as highly profiled as Microsoft's are, are going to have people poking at them all the time. This doesn't mean they are any easier a target than a linux box is, if Linux was the standard, rather than microsoft, you would see linux variants getting a bad rap also.
I don't agree with all of microsoft's practices, but I do recognize that they have some good factors about them too. I'm a fan of OS's and they're variability. Its fun to recognize they're key good points, and key bad points, but to focus on Microsoft just because they are so big..I don't think is right.

Not like they can't afford a shake up though