Cybersecurity concerns prompt DoD to transition to Windows 10
NewsMarch 16, 2016
WASHINGTON. The Department of Defense will transition to Windows 10 to strengthen its cybersecurity per a memo by Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work.? The memo was addressed to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defense under secretaries, defense agency directors, DoD field activity directors, secretaries of the military departments, and other senior leaders.
U.S. Cyber Command, through U.S. Strategic Command, and in consultation with the CJCS and DoD CIO Terry Halvorsen will lead the transition to Windows 10.
“Transitioning to a single operating system across the department will improve our cybersecurity posture by establishing a common baseline,” says DoD CIO Terry Halvorsen and adding that deploying Windows 10 also will help lower the cost of DoD information technology.
Three million Windows-based desktops, laptops, and tablets will transition to Windows 10, a cross-platform release that excludes mobile phones, says David Cotton, the deputy CIO for information enterprise.
Windows 10 will enable faster software patching and counter a cyberintrusion called “pass the hash,” Cotton says. The operating system will also increase accountability and transparency across DoD networks.
According to officials the deadline for the transition is January.
Read more on cybersecurity:
DoD $5 billion cybersecurity prime contract won by Booz Allen Hamilton
"Hack the Pentagon" invites vetted hackers to test DoD cybersecurity
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