[foxboro] NT vs. UNIX: Continuing the Thread

 I just had to send this Reuters article:

Japan may drop Windows to boost security - paper  
 
 
  

Friday November 15, 11:50 PM EST 

TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Japanese government will consider replacing 
Microsoft Corp's (MSFT) Windows, used in much of its computer networks, with 
another operating system to bolster security, a newspaper said on Saturday.

The safety of computer networks is under scrutiny as Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi's administration presses on towards a long-held goal of "e-government", 
which would allow citizens to deal with government agencies via the Internet.

Windows now serves at the operating system for the bulk of servers and personal 
computers that are used for the Japanese government's computer networks, the 
Asahi Shimbun said.

But the government is interested in studying the possibility of adopting 
alternative operating systems, particularly open source programmes such as 
Linux, the newspaper said.

  

The advantage of open source programmes is that unlike Microsoft's software 
products, they do not require licensing fees and can be modified because their 
source codes are made available for free. This makes it easier for system 
operators to cope with any problems that could arise, the paper said.

The source, or blueprint, of a programme determines how it works.

The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications 
will set up a panel of experts to study how other countries are using open 
source operating systems as early as the next fiscal year that starts next 
April, the paper said.

Public Management ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

The review will take place after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's panel on 
promoting electronic government asked the government in August to develop or 
introduce an open-source programme for security reasons, the newspaper said.

Concerns about computer security were stoked in August, when a leak of computer 
data for a computer network used by Japan's military came to light.

The news of the data leak had come just a day after the introduction of a 
mandatory ID system that keeps track of personal data electronically, 
identifying every Japanese citizen with an 11-digit number.

A number of municipalities have refused to implement the system, fearing misuse 
by hackers.

Linux, essentially a free version of the proprietary Unix operating system, has 
been making strong inroads into the market for servers, the machines that 
manage networks of computers.

This prompted Microsoft, which dominates the personal computer software market 
with its Windows operating system but is a relatively new entrant in the server 
market, to make an exhaustive study of the threats posed by open source. 




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