Macs enlisted for service

Macs may not play all the latest war-simulation games, but that doesn’t mean they can’t play their part in real-life military operations. A story in Forbes reveals that the US Army has been expanding the use of Macs in both server and desktop environments, largely as a way of preventing a software monoculture from arising. By diversifying the operating systems used, it means the Army is less vulnerable to attacks designed against just one operating system (read: Windows).

And they’ve already seen some success from the plan, as the Xserves in Army data centers show.

“Those are some of the most attacked computers there are. But the attacks used against them are designed for Windows-based machines, so they shrug them off,” [Lieutenant Colonel C.J. Wallington] says.

Macs only account for about 20,000 of the 700,000 computers that the Army has, and expansion has been limited due to incompatibility with certain widespread systems, such as the Common Access Cards (CAC) security system. To remedy that, the Army is working with Thursby Software, makers of Windows/Mac file-sharing software DAVE, to bring CAC compatibility to Macs. Estimates put the number of new Macs in the Army at around 2,000 per year.

With recent reports alleging that the security gap between Windows and Mac is closing, is the Army worried? Nah.

[T]he Army’s Jonathan Broskey stands by his claims of Apple’s security: He says the high number of patches to Apple software is a good sign—evidence of the large community of developers actively working to tighten Unix programs and eliminate bugs.