Nuclear arsenal finds security in 8-inch floppy disks

[jakeXT]

The 8-inch floppy disk is to computers what the hand crank starter is to automobiles—a relic of the past, existing in museums, black-and-white photos and maybe your grandfather’s basement.

They’re the stuff of computer nostalgia, finding themselves made into a desk clock, attached to a tote bag or throw pillow, or emblazoned on a T-shirt. And they can also be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In a “60 minutes” report Sunday, correspondent Leslie Stahl visited an Air Force launch control center in Wyoming and discovered that Cold War-era facilities still have Cole War-era technology, including analog phones and, yes, 8-inch floppy disks that are used in issuing launch commands for the Minuteman missiles.

ICBM missile silos went up in the 1960s and ‘70s and have remained pretty much frozen in time. The missiles themselves have undergone regular upgrades, but the facilities haven’t changed much. One reason is money—according to one estimate, it would cost $352 billion over the next decade to modernize the facilities. But another reason is the security provided by old IT.


http://defensesystems.com/articles/2014/04/29/af-8-inch-floppies-icbm-launch.aspx

60 Minutes shocked to find 8-inch floppies drive nuclear deterrent

In a report that aired on April 27, CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl expressed surprise that part of the computer system responsible for controlling the launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles relied on data loaded from 8-inch floppy disks. Most of the young officers stationed at the launch control center had never seen a floppy disk before they became "missileers."

An Air Force officer showed Stahl one of the disks, marked “Top Secret,” which is used with the computer that handles what was once called the Strategic Air Command Digital Network (SACDIN), a communication system that delivers launch commands to US missile forces. Beyond the floppies, a majority of the systems in the Wyoming US Air Force launch control center (LCC) Stahl visited dated back to the 1960s and 1970s, offering the Air Force’s missile forces an added level of cyber security, ICBM forces commander Major General Jack Weinstein told 60 Minutes.

“A few years ago we did a complete analysis of our entire network,” Weinstein said. “Cyber engineers found out that the system is extremely safe and extremely secure in the way it's developed.”

However, not all of the Minuteman launch control centers’ aging hardware is an advantage. The analog phone systems, for example, often make it difficult for the missileers to communicate with each other or with their base. The Air Force commissioned studies on updating the ground-based missile force last year, and it's preparing to spend $19 million this year on updates to the launch control centers. The military has also requested $600 million next year for further improvements.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/04/60-minutes-shocked-to-find-8-inch-floppies-drive-nuclear-deterrent/

[Pholus]

1. Analog control systems are the obvious foil to "cyberwar"

It's just the 1%ers hate paying people to man the controls and every desire to sell an expensive networked system that later they can sell expensive security to protect.