US agencies ordered to secure XP, Vista configurations
By Ruben Francia
US Government Federal agencies have been ordered to implement a common security configuration setting for all Windows XP and Vista systems based on the standards developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Microsoft and several other organizations.
The order was issued in a memorandum by de facto federal CIO Karen Evans to agency CIOs giving them until Feb 1, 2008 to comply.
“Common security configurations provide a baseline level of security, reduce risk from security threats and vulnerabilities, and save time and resources,” Evans said. “This allows agencies to improve system performance, decrease operating costs and ensure public confidence in the confidentiality, integrity and availability of government information.”
Days prior to the order, Symantec said in its Internet Security Threat Report that the US accounted for 31 percent of malicious activity originating from computer networks, while 10 percent came from China and 7 percent from Germany. The report also mentioned that government sector accounted for the majority of data breaches with 25 per cent more than education, which came in second.
Microsoft must be happy. Days ago it seemed that the US Government wanted to ban Vista and now with this order, there is a clear indication that Federal Government agencies will adopt Microsoft’s Vista if compatibility issues are resolved.
This order will make other software developers rush to make sure their applications are compatible with Vista. According to Alan Paller director of research at the SANS Institute, a Bethesda, Md., “No Vista application will be able to be sold to federal agencies if the application does not run on the secure version of Vista.”
All these factors are a clear indication that it is just be a matter of time until Microsoft’s Vista operating system becomes the operating system of choice for governement departments. My bet is that it won’t take long; not more than three years is my guess.
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April 3rd, 2007
[...] Last month, US Government Federal agencies have been ordered to implement a common security configuration setting for all Windows XP and Vista systems based on the standards developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Microsoft and several other organizations. [...]