Black Hat with a Vista twist

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Virtuailization: Stand Up program of Gates Foundation

Because my sense is that Vista developers totally ignored multi-core, relying on monopoly power to sustain single core X86 technology for another half decade, that they are unaware of the hardware based security Intel (and likely AMD) have implemented.

It was Microsoft's unwillingness to address a hardware issue that allowed hackers to fault to the hardware level even when the OS was virtualized. A virtual OS should be completely secure because the hacker is fooled into thinking he is doing real damage when in reality he is only virtually doing damage, that damage undone in the blink of an eye by switching virtual machines.

Intel, I understand, begged Microsoft to cover the hardware flaw in X86 technology that allowed hackers to fault from a Microsoft OS virtual machine to the hardware where real damage like reformating a hard drive could be done.

Microsoft management apparently really had Intel over the barrel on this and were prepared to extract a pound of flesh for the fix at the OS level because even those not trained in law can see Intel as the ultamate party responsible for loss from a hack. After all it is a hardware flaw being exploited, and a flaw Intel freely admits exists.

The liability was so grate to Intel that they became a huge open source contributor. Today Linux on X86 has patches that likely prohibit hackers from doing the damage that can be done on X86 technology.

We IT professionals need to make those using X86 technology (which is the masses) aware and come up with ways to get Linux onto those machines if the security problems are to be solved this decade.

More harm can be done to a society that relies on Microsoft Windows than any bomb. An X 86 machine with Linux and virtualized Windows Vista or XP or ME or 2000 is what every educational institution needs and would be a fine use of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation money.

Since Bill and Melinda have started their Stand Up programs at the schools, I say they should Stand Up to this issue and poney over money to put Linux under Windows at every educational institution in the nation. That or replace every PC with a multicore one. The time for this is Now as the war on terror becomes more and more a war waged electronically.

Frank L. Mighetto CCP

Posted by: mighetto   Posted on: 08/02/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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