German government says Windows 8 linked to U.S. spy program
According to leaked documents obtained by Die Zeit, Germany has warned its various government offices that they should not use Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.
The IT team that found what they said were major problems, said that the security of the user’s data could be compromised. The problem, according to the IT team and Business Insider, is that the operating system “allows Microsoft to control the computer remotely through a built-in backdoor” which can also provide control to the U.S. government’s spy program, NSA, recently exposed by whistle blower Edward Snowden.
Business Insider said, “In short, users of Windows 8 with TPM 2.0 surrender control over their machines the moment they turn it on for the first time. It would be easy for Microsoft or chip manufacturers to pass the backdoor keys to the NSA and allow it to control those computers.”
A programmer told Westmoreland Times, “Some governments are slowly learning about the various security flaws inherit in the usual brand of operating systems and have begun using open source operating systems and programs. IT teams report that there are more secure systems available for businesses and individual users so they can easily move from Microsoft to the free, open source Linux operating systems. In many cases, Linux costs little to no money to obtain.” (Source)