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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: MechAg94 on October 20, 2019, 05:26:44 PM

Title: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MechAg94 on October 20, 2019, 05:26:44 PM
https://www.engadget.com/amp/2019/10/18/us-military-nuclear-missiles-floppy-disks/?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvL3hJYXBRMzM0bE4_YW1wPTE&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALpTKiuJu9NDs99ZmSisPSIKq6zEmVytPSBr5KWR0bq4C2yaZJ2gI2A0xJesgBVIubTCwK2C9QSpCstpKRAngvhg0r09C7fe-EI_FEbVzgFiYbNv1OiCpQI5xx9rWiTSkRkYTl6Br8MQLq-7oH-h5xYKfBMxsEmAVM4IDM2J1uTq&__twitter_impression=true&guccounter=2
Didn't we see some of this equipment in the movie War Games?  They might be moving forward too fast.  They didn't even transition to 3.5" floppy disks first.

Quote
As we alarmingly learned in 2014, the US military has been using 8-inch floppy disks in an antiquated '70s computer to receive nuclear launch orders from the President. Now, the US strategic command has announced that it has replaced the drives with a "highly-secure solid state digital storage solution," Lt. Col. Jason Rossi told c4isrnet.com.

If your first response to this is "What is a floppy disk?", just move on to the next thread.  This one is liable to devolve into discussions about punch cards or something.   =D
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Fly320s on October 20, 2019, 05:29:29 PM
So long as the launch computers aren't connected to the internet, I don't care what they use.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MechAg94 on October 20, 2019, 05:36:18 PM
So long as the launch computers aren't connected to the internet, I don't care what they use.
Maybe they just embed the code instructions in internet porn videos. 
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MillCreek on October 20, 2019, 06:20:56 PM
^^^Gives a new meaning to the term 'money shot'.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Hawkmoon on October 20, 2019, 07:49:16 PM
Quote
"highly-secure solid state digital storage solution,"

Ya mean a thumb drive?
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: RoadKingLarry on October 20, 2019, 08:07:22 PM
I don't understand why organizations use severely outdated tech like that in potentially mission critical situations. Sure, it works, for now, and there may be an insane process to update to more modern stuff but damn.
Even big Telco does it in really stupid situations, there are more than a few cases where telephone switches are still managed with 5-1/4" floppy drives. the real kick in the pants is the lack of either ability or desire for corporate procurement to actually buy new disks.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MechAg94 on October 20, 2019, 08:10:31 PM
Ya mean a thumb drive?
I am sure the military has a much cooler name for it.   =D
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MechAg94 on October 20, 2019, 08:13:00 PM
I don't understand why organizations use severely outdated tech like that in potentially mission critical situations. Sure, it works, for now, and there may be an insane process to update to more modern stuff but damn.
Even big Telco does it in really stupid situations, there are more than a few cases where telephone switches are still managed with 5-1/4" floppy drives. the real kick in the pants is the lack of either ability or desire for corporate procurement to actually buy new disks.
There are some things that require so much bureaucratic red tape to upgrade or change that it takes a strong desire on someone's part to actually go through the effort. 
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Fly320s on October 21, 2019, 05:34:11 AM
I am sure the military has a much cooler name for it.   =D

Tactical thumb drive?

Strategic thumb drive?
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: dogmush on October 21, 2019, 06:42:58 AM
I am sure the military has a much cooler name for it.   =D

PED-SRSM

I was actually authorized to have one on my last deployment so I could move Classified routes to different navigational computers.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Jamisjockey on October 21, 2019, 07:42:34 AM
Technology has moved way past that kind of equipment, but most of it is manufactured in countries that are not friendly to us.  Remember when China was back-dooring modems?
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: brimic on October 21, 2019, 08:23:46 AM
Technology has moved way past that kind of equipment, but most of it is manufactured in countries that are not friendly to us.  Remember when China was back-dooring modems?

keyboards, mouse, or anything else that can be plugged into a USB port has to be assumed to contain malware or a keylogger.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: RocketMan on October 21, 2019, 09:18:20 AM
Quote
"highly-secure solid state digital storage solution,"

Ya mean a thumb drive?

They're counting on their fingers.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Hawkmoon on October 21, 2019, 09:43:44 AM
PED-SRSM


Translation?
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Nick1911 on October 21, 2019, 09:47:23 AM
Technology has moved way past that kind of equipment, but most of it is manufactured in countries that are not friendly to us.  Remember when China was back-dooring modems?

While the vast, vast majority of consumer electronics are produced in our favorite communist country, I think we would both be supprised to learn how many domestic outfits produce finished electronic assemblies and components here.  There's a lot of silicon still being done in the US.  One non-chip company has a microchip fabrication lab right here in KC.  I've got a friend that works in an outift making capacitors, made in the US.  

We have the capibility to domestically produce systems to modernize this process - as other posters said, I suspect it's more of a bureaucratic mess.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: dogmush on October 21, 2019, 10:06:02 AM
Translation?

It's not as cool translated.

Portable Electronic Device-Secure Removable Storage Media
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Pb on October 21, 2019, 11:28:15 AM
I'm thinking the floppy disk is not a bad idea at all... obsolete equipment is harder to hack, I am guessing.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: French G. on October 21, 2019, 11:51:07 AM
They'll try to launch a missile now and get an error message because they have not completed their annual information security training.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Brad Johnson on October 21, 2019, 12:32:26 PM
Storage, Data, Secure, Digital, Solid State, Compact, Removable, Man-Portable, Concealable.

SDSDSSCRMPC for short.

Brad
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MechAg94 on October 21, 2019, 03:47:22 PM
While the vast, vast majority of consumer electronics are produced in our favorite communist country, I think we would both be supprised to learn how many domestic outfits produce finished electronic assemblies and components here.  There's a lot of silicon still being done in the US.  One non-chip company has a microchip fabrication lab right here in KC.  I've got a friend that works in an outift making capacitors, made in the US.  

We have the capibility to domestically produce systems to modernize this process - as other posters said, I suspect it's more of a bureaucratic mess.
So does anyone produce an all USA home computer?
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Nick1911 on October 21, 2019, 04:04:29 PM
So does anyone produce an all USA home computer?

Not that I'm aware of.  It would probably be a poor business choice for a company; consumers wouldn't pay the increased price for it.  Other countries win for producing volume consumer electronics stuff at the lowest unit cost.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: kgbsquirrel on October 21, 2019, 08:51:44 PM
While the vast, vast majority of consumer electronics are produced in our favorite communist country, I think we would both be supprised to learn how many domestic outfits produce finished electronic assemblies and components here.  There's a lot of silicon still being done in the US.  One non-chip company has a microchip fabrication lab right here in KC.  I've got a friend that works in an outift making capacitors, made in the US.  

We have the capibility to domestically produce systems to modernize this process - as other posters said, I suspect it's more of a bureaucratic mess.

Sometimes obsolescence is beneficial to security.  A system so archaic that modern stuff literally can not interface with it.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: RoadKingLarry on October 22, 2019, 05:38:26 AM
Not that I'm aware of.  It would probably be a poor business choice for a company; consumers wouldn't pay the increased price for it.  Other countries win for producing volume consumer electronics stuff at the lowest unit cost.


Yeah, that defacto slave labor really cuts down on the overhead. Not to mention the cost savings Inherent in not having to deal with pesky things like worker health and safety.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: dogmush on October 22, 2019, 06:14:02 AM


Yeah, that defacto slave labor really cuts down on the overhead. Not to mention the cost savings Inherent in not having to deal with pesky things like worker health and safety.

You can do that here, you just need illegals that are skilled at electronics assembly.
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: Nick1911 on October 22, 2019, 08:37:57 AM
Thread drift, but interesting: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants
Title: Re: US military will no longer use floppy disks to coordinate nuke launches
Post by: MechAg94 on October 22, 2019, 09:37:11 AM


Yeah, that defacto slave labor really cuts down on the overhead. Not to mention the cost savings Inherent in not having to deal with pesky things like worker health and safety.
It isn't just that.  Over the last 50 years, the US has steadily increased the cost and liability of labor on top of higher corporate tax rates.  The tax rates were helped with the tax cuts Trump signed, but the cost of labor is still high (relative to what I don't know).

And by cost of labor, I am not just talking about pay.  There is health care, unemployment, worker's compensation, payroll taxes, injury liability, regulatory compliance, etc, etc.