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

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.



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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.'"

;-)