US Navy Develops World's Worst E-reader

First time accepted submitter Dimetrodon (2714071) writes "It is an unspoken rule of military procurement that any IT or communications technology will invariably be years behind what is commercially available or technically hobbled to ensure security. One case in point is the uncomfortably backronymed NeRD, or Navy e-Reader Device, an electronic book so secure the 300 titles it holds can never be updated. Ever."

Comments

Re:There's a reason books can't be updated

[Richard_at_work]

Getting data onto that MicroSD card would be an issue.

The main reasons for the lockdown on the device is stray EM emissions which can give away a ships position - and that includes peripherals, so no ports. I have no doubt that its cheaper to replace the readers with new ones every year than it is to build in a way to securely updateable.