Using MacBook Pros and Fighter Planes to protect the Department of Defense’s Computer Network
Faithful Macenstein reader Charles Davey writes: “I took this picture at the 2008 Quonset Point (RI) Airshow yesterday. Seems like the Air Guard knows the best weapon for the job.”
Wow. 3 completely unguarded MacBook Pros left on a card table out in the open for anyone to steal. Or at least, that’s what the 102nd Information Warfare Squadron wanted you to think. According to their website:
“The 102d Information Warfare Squadron is an Air Combat Command (ACC) gained unit which provides Computer Network Defense (CND) services. CND incorporates those actions taken to protect, monitor, analyze, detect and respond to unauthorized activity within DoD information systems and computer networks.”
I’m pretty sure there were 3 fully armed jets circling above that tent, just waiting for someone to try something. Is it just me, or is it extra super awesome that the “Information Warefare Squadron” is using Macs to defend the presumably 90% PC DoD computer networks?
Actually, AKO (Army Knowledge Online, the USA’s email system) is run by XSERVE.
The USAF has been transitioning to OS X environments for engineering and administration for some time now. Aside from it being a better platform to manage multi-tiered environments, having the ability to run OS X, NT5.x, and any flavor of *NIX is too damn clutch. I had a quad-core Mac Pro just before I separated last year.
XServe? Wow, that’s a bit surprising. I had to do some gov’t portal research recently including the AKO but I didn’t find out that fact. The more the gov’t/armed services use Mac’s, the more likely I might get one here. If Apple gave a bulk discount it might be more likely.
Dont you guys watch ALIAS?, only the bad guys (Russian mafia, covert ops etc) use racks and racks of Dell Servers
That’s because the bad guys are idiots (“Crime Does Not Pay!”).