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The Military China Government Security Software United States Technology

Pentagon Creates 'Do Not Buy' List of Russian, Chinese Software (defenseone.com) 180

Posted by BeauHD from the off-limits dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Defense One: The Pentagon is warning the military and its contractors not to use software it deems to have Russian and Chinese connections, according to the U.S. Defense Department's acquisition chief. Officials have begun circulating a "Do Not Buy" list of software that does not meet "national security standards," Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said Friday. The Pentagon started compiling the list about six months ago. Suspicious companies are put on a list that is circulated to the military's software buyers. Now the Pentagon is working with the three major defense industry trade associations -- the Aerospace industries Association, National Defense Industrial Association and Professional Services Council -- to alert contractors small and large. Lord said defense officials have also been working with the intelligence community to identify "certain companies that do not operate in a way consistent with what we have for defense standard." Asked if programs and weapons were compromised by foreign software, Lord said, "These are more widespread issues. I don't think we're focused on one particular system."
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Pentagon Creates 'Do Not Buy' List of Russian, Chinese Software More

Pentagon Creates 'Do Not Buy' List of Russian, Chinese Software

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  • Hey, Russia - if you're listening, (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Hey, Russia - if you're listening - put all Microsoft products on that list.

  • Software you can trust! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 29, 2018 @06:30PM (#57029882)

    Great to know, a list of software that doesn't contain US government sanctioned backdoors. If the Pentagon doesn't like it, then you can be 99% sure it values your privacy and doesn't harvest your private data.

    The irony, is that i might sound like a troll, but this is the truth.

    • Great to know, a list of software that doesn't contain US government sanctioned backdoors. If the Pentagon doesn't like it, then you can be 99% sure it values your privacy and doesn't harvest your private data.

      Actually the irony is that you can not be sure of that at all precisely for the same reason we can not trust so much of the software on and off this Pentagon list. Your post is currently moderated as "Interesting" but would be better moderated as "Funny" because it might be a joke, but it certainly is

    • Re:Software you can trust! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Monday July 30, 2018 @12:45AM (#57031044) Homepage Journal

      "If the Pentagon doesn't like it, then you can be 99% sure it values your privacy and doesn't harvest your private data."

      False. All it means is that it doesn't hand it to US intelligence agencies.

  • A perfectly reasonable idea that will be used for all the wrong reasons. So, standard operating procedure, I guess

  • Because the current behaviour of Russia and China isn't very friendly to say the least, it's very aggressive. And with such a whimp as a president who just needs to hear the magic words and he will give you the droll lock and roll over for Putin like a pet for his owner.

    And please don't compare the behaviour of Russia or China to US-Israel-stuxnet. On the one side nobody in his right mind wants to have a nuclear armed Iran and on the other the action taken was precisely directed towards one goal, uran enric

    • US & Israel are always the GOOD GUYS? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      US & Israel are good, always good, and will be good forever.

      On the other hand, China & Russia are bad, always bad, and will be bad forever.

      Stuxnet is good, but anything coming out of China / Russia is bad.

      Is that what you are saying??

    • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

      by currently_awake ( 1248758 )
      The reason that America is attacking Iran is because Saudi Arabia pays well to attack their enemies. And the US Government will happily overthrow a democracy with a good human rights record at the behest of a terrorist spawning (Taliban, ISSIS) oppressive dictatorship any day of the week.
    • > ...don't compare the behaviour of Russia or China to US-Israel-stuxnet.

      The attack that legitimized cyber-war, for which the most vulnerable country is the US, and which did not significantly slow down Iranian uranium enrichment for very long ( https://www.tandfonline.com/do... [tandfonline.com] ) ?
  • Wait, it is 2018 and this list didn't exist already???

  • Includes ... (Score:3, Funny)

    by CaptainDork ( 3678879 ) on Sunday July 29, 2018 @07:45PM (#57030134)

    Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Whatsapp, and other social media platforms that foreign countries contaminate with ad-buying.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by JustNiz ( 692889 )

      You really believe its ad=buying that is the danger here? Like the data from social media platforms isn't already being freely handed to and abused by at least the US government?

  • Where's the ... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by CaptainDork ( 3678879 )

    ... list?

    • Re:Where's the ... (Score:4, Informative)

      by l0n3s0m3phr34k ( 2613107 ) on Monday July 30, 2018 @12:22AM (#57030962)
      This article [telesurtv.net] says "The list identifying these companies will be made available to Pentagon's acquisitions staff, she further pointed out, without providing any further details." So, I'm assuming the list isn't finalized yet. TFA says "Now the Pentagon is working with the three major defense industry trade associations — the Aerospace industries Association, National Defense Industrial Association and Professional Services Council — to alert contractors small and large." My guess is that once it's formalized it will be released to the companies that are members of those associations first.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AHuxley ( 892839 )
      Could be a few AV companies that found NSA efforts and big telco brands.
      The US does not want to list the holding companies it knows about.

  • Proprietary software cannot be trusted. It must always be treated as potential spyware. Only free-as-in-freedom software can be allowed for critical tasks.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      This. One thousand times this. Even the CFR 21 part 11 requires it (though the FDA won't admit it).

      Free as in freedom software is critical to the future of humanity.

      Stuff like this clearly demonstrates that.

    • Nothing to stop someone throwing a few lines of extra code into an open source product before compile time.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Except that person needs to be present at compile time, which doesn't work if you are compiling it yourself or (more likely in the case of governments) having a central national body compiling the code for use by the various agencies in that country.
        Downloading someone else's precompiled binaries is only marginally better than someone else's precompiled proprietary code, although there are usually several options you can choose from at least.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Whibla ( 210729 )

      No software should be 'trusted' for critical tasks*. All software should be treated as being potentially compromised.

      Here's a recent example [bleepingcomputer.com] that highlights this point.

      Creating and maintaining a 'do not use' list is an obvious way to eliminate the low hanging fruit, but it's by no means sufficient.

      That being said, like many others, I'm going to agree that not only is this not really news, because it contains nothing new and no real information, this announcement is actually tantamount to propaganda and noth

  • I'm looking forward to Russia and China releasing their own tit-for-tat list of consumer products that come with preinstalled NSA/CIA backdoors.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dcw3 ( 649211 )

      And if you had to choose from the recommendations given, which of the three would you go with?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by JustNiz ( 692889 )

        None. If security was a real concern I'd always go opensource, and audit the source then build from it.

  • Much of this, used in many telephone companies, is developed in Moscow.
  • "When you think government spyware, Buy American!"

  • tracking on link to main story !! why (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Since when does slashdot link to stories with tracking on them - ?oref=d-topstory - ? I thought that was against the slashdot code.
    Best case scenario Beau just copied the link from somewhere else with the tracking already on there.

  • Putin says it's safe so hey, what can we do?

  • I hate article like that one. I want to see the list!

  • Asked if the military's security expectations were arbitrary and unfair, Pentagon Spokesman Squamous Turdstocking III said, "It's not that we're catagorically against back doors in our software. We just want to make sure only Russia and our Commander In Chief have a set of keys.

  • It beggars belief that any "power" relies on the software built by other "powers". Even the software from your "friends" is likely to have hidden exploits, because they will want to know what your plans are.

  • It's sad that everything has become political and you cannot be sure that there are any security reasons for these listings.

  • Everyone in the defense industry should be required to buy American. It's fucking insane that we let Chinese and Russian technology into the industry at all.

  • Russian cyber security firm, Kaspersky Lab, is being investigated by the F.B.I. for possible links to Russian security services. Quote from NY Times 9/12/2017. US govt put out notice to remove this anti-virus from all government not only DOD computers within 90 days ordered by Elaine C. Duke, the acting secretary of Homeland Security. Boxes with embedded code, like routers, cable modems, computers desk & laotop, etc may be infected with backdoor or corrupted software put there in China's production fa

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