Bundeswehr Says Microsoft Software Verboten

deran9ed writes: "The German foreign office and Bundeswehr are pulling the plugs on Microsoft software, citing security concerns, according to the German news magazine Der Spiegel. Spiegel claims that German security authorities suspect that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has 'back door' access to Microsoft source code, and can therefore easily read the Federal Republic's deepest secrets. Article in German, English article"

Comments

Love that NSA... :)

[Booker]

The NSA sure stays busy, what with putting backdoors in Windows and securing Linux.

Next thing you know we'll have a Congressional panel on why the NSA is being so... um... un-American. :-)

---

Re:Give me a break

[banky]

There isn't anything *but* Microsoft software, if you think about it; with 95+% of the desktop market, even if it isn't made in Redmond, its written for their products.

Besides, that German company may very well be SuSE...

Re:Um...

[Admiral Burrito]

What makes you so sure that they received the complete source? Is the source even buildable? What makes you sure the Windows binaries don't include backdoors in source files Microsoft doesn't distribute?

I would bet that it is buildable. But see Reflections on Trusting Trust.

That paper applies to GCC too, of course.

Trouble is...

[Hanno]

...the US secret service has a documented history of using its snooping on its allies, mostly for the benefit of US businesses.

A former CIA director explained that this is done for moral reasons, but his article sounds awfully bigot to me...

It should be expected that Echelon and similar technology that the NSA has access to will be used in a similar manner.

------------------

Translation of Spiegel Article plus comments

[Hanno]

[Everything in brackets is my comment. I am German.]

http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/politik/0,1518,1231 70,00.html

Enemy Software

German Army bans Microsoft Software

In fear of US secret services, the German foreign ministry and the German army are planning to close security holes. Instead of American software, federal computers will run German software in the future. [German software? There is no German operating system that I know of. DPA has a competent staff of tech writers, but I doubt they got this right.]

Original article by Deutsche Presse Agentur [an independent, but huge commercial German press agency].

(Image caption: In danger of spies - the German army shoots against Microsoft.)

Computers that are used in security-sensitive areas shall not run Microsoft software anymore. According to German government security advisors, the American secret service NSA has full access to the complete source codes of the US company and is thus able to read even encrypted [Microsoft] files. Because of this, the German ministry of defense uses encryption technologies offered by the local companies Siemens and Telekom [the formerly state-owned, now largest telephone and internet provider].

Meanwhile, the ministry of foreign affairs has halted plans to use video conference technology to communicate with their embassadors and foreign offices. During a Telekom presentation in Berlin at the beginning of March, State Secretary Gunter Pleuger was informed that for technical reasons, every satellite transmission is routed to the American city Denver, Coloroda.

Pleuger thinks the detour to the USA is a security risk. "Then we could do our conferences in Langley right from the start" joked a staffer of the Pleuger office. Langley, Virgina, is the location of the US secret service CIA.



------------------

Oh Please, This Is Just German Nationalism

[Cheshire Cat]

Citing "security concerns" is just a way for Germany to encourage the use of products from German-based companies. Right now Germany needs to do all it can to encourage economic growth at home. In former East Germany, unemployment is rampant. Its as high as 20% in some places.

I believe that they can't simply bar American software for various trade legalities. So they need to use "security concerns" as a cover to justify this. It doesn't mean that MS has backdoors in its code; rather the *rumor* that such things exist is the perfect reason for the German's to use software from their country.

Re:Oh Please, This Is Just German Nationalism

[cyber-vandal]

People from my country (UK) invented the computer, the television and the car and a Scotsman invented the telephone in the US. The internet is undoubtedly a great invention, but it was an Englishman who created HTML and made it useful, and the next big thing on the internet will be mobile computing via 3G cellphone networks in which the US is woefully behind.

Backdoors?

[Sir_Real]

What like Outlook? :)

Re:Backdoors?

[Alien54]

What like Outlook? :)

Like the classic sig file says:

"I picked up a Magic 8-Ball (tm) the other day and it said 'Outlook not so good.'

I said, 'Sure, but Microsoft still ships it.'"

;-)

Wha?

[BigumD]

You think that if the government had access to Microsoft's software then they'd have a stronger case against them...

Gesundheit

[deran9ed]

Siemens is a mega corporation, so its going to be neat to see how this plays out on other European countries using Microsoft based products, as well as the governments of Germany and America's trust in each other (remember with a company like Siemens, its not like its a mom and pop company ranting off.) Germany is a very powerful force within the European Union as well so chances of this rubbing off into other countries will likely take place in the not-to-distant future.

Another oddity is why would they just come out of the blue and state these transmissions are going to Denver? Out of all the places (for a conspiracy theorist to mention) in the US Denver and not someplace like Washington. Well here are the only places I know offhand capable of capturing, sorting info in the Colorado area along with respective information: ITS, NSA orders (keep in mind these are publicly accessible websites and known locations)

I wonder if MS would comment on this article or will they ignore it. This isn't the first time MS has been accused of having backdoored software.

(In fact here ya go enjoy... gov doc a, gov doc b, Slashdot's prior MS/Backdoor article)

Also its not the first time someone in the European Union has accused the United States of odd actions involving espionage. There was also something along the lines of ECHELON being by the U.S. used to promote industrial espionage in order to beat the EU to a large (billions of dollar large) aerospace deal with Saudi Arabia.

Anyways...

if [ -e bombdropping ];
then
mkdir /jail ; chroot /jail deran9ed
echo "it could happen to you too"
else
for i in `find /somewhere/over/the/rainbow -name deran9ed
do
wget -U spooks www.google.com/query?deran9ed
mv $i /jail
done
fi

Well here's the babelfishified version of the German article:

German Federal Armed Forces banish Microsoft programs from fear of US secret services the Foreign Office and the German Federal Armed Forces safety gaps want to conclude. Instead of American software on the national computers in the future German programs will operate.

In computers, which are used in sensitive areas, no software from Microsoft is to be used anymore. After realizations of German security authorities the American espionage service NSA has encoded data all relevant source codes of the US firm and can read in such a way. In order to protect secrets, the Ministry of Defense sets Siemens and Telekom therefore on encoding techniques of the domestic companies.

The Foreign Office reset meanwhile its plan to introduce video conferences with its representations abroad. Undersecretary of state Gunter Pleuger experienced with a Telekom presentation in Berlin at the beginning of March that all satellite transmission ways for technical reasons run over the American city Denver in the Federal State Colorado.

Pleuger was too uncertain the detour via the USA. " then we can hold our conferences directly in Langley ", spoettelte a Pleuger coworker. In Langley (Virginia) the American secret service CIA resides.

crummy translation...

vroom vroom