4 ms·
> They're one config error away from sending classified data to Microsoft. No they aren't, because classified data is only handled on isolated networks.
by vonmoltke 10y ago
> They're one config error away from sending classified data to Microsoft.
No they aren't, because classified data is only handled on isolated networks.
- nebabyte 10y ago"It won't phone home, just make sure to keep it offline or it might phone home"?
- wheelerwj 10y agolol, obviously that's not even remotely (get it?) accurate. classified data should only be handled on isolated networks.
- vonmoltke 10y agoHandling classified data on an unapproved network is both illegal and a serious security violation in every environment I have worked in. If you have that going on, Windows phoning home is the least of your worries.
- douche 10y agoIf only that were true... we could have been saved so much tedious wrangling and wikileaking.
- vonmoltke 10y agoThose leaks were hand-carried out of networks on removable media. They were physically removed from an isolated network.
- noxToken 10y agoOh wow, TIL! On another note, I have some blinker fluid for sale. Guaranteed to lubricate your turn signal or I'll refund double! It is protocol for classified data to only remain on isolated systems. There are stickers[0] (numbers as standard forms SF-706 through SF-712 if I'm not mistaken) to designate the status of certain media. If you think all of this media stays within its designation (including isolation), you are sorely mistaken. [0]: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2519/4092997449_c37ceb0491_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2519/4092997449_c37ceb0491_b.j...
- vonmoltke 10y agoAs I said elsewhere, media being attached to an unapproved network is a serious violation. Once that material hits the lower network it is in serious danger of compromise. The behavior of Windows is irrelevant. You could also try making your point without being a snarky asshole.
- pjc50 10y agoYou may have missed the controversy over this in relation to the US presidential election.
- vonmoltke 10y agoSee my other reply about physical exfiltration of data. No data was removed over a network link.
- pjc50 10y agoI was referring to the huge controversy over whether Hillary Clinton was storing classified info in regular email (which seems to have resolved as "no" just after the election). The Trump administration seems even more likely to store classified info on regular systems, if they're not passing it directly over to the Russians.
- vonmoltke 10y agoAs I said in other places, that is a serious matter and puts such information at serious risk in any circumstances. Whether or not Windows phones home is irrelevant if the people handling classified information are allowed to do so in a careless manner. The problem of classified information being on a system where it could be set back to Microsoft in the manner described in the article is that the information is on that network in the first place, not that Windows might send it to Redmond. The latter just makes cleanup and remediation a bit harder.