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US Air Force finally retires 8-inch floppies from missile launch control system
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:12 am
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:12 am
quote:
Five years ago, a CBS 60 Minutes report publicized a bit of technology trivia many in the defense community were aware of: the fact that eight-inch floppy disks were still used to store data critical to operating the Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile command, control, and communications network. The system, once called the Strategic Air Command Digital Network (SACDIN), relied on IBM Series/1 computers installed by the Air Force at Minuteman II missile sites in the 1960s and 1970s.
Those floppy disks have now been retired. Despite the contention by the Air Force at the time of the 60 Minutes report that the archaic hardware offered a cybersecurity advantage, the service has completed an upgrade to what is now known as the Strategic Automated Command and Control System (SACCS), as Defense News reports. SAACS is an upgrade that swaps the floppy disk system for what Lt. Col. Jason Rossi, commander of the Air Force’s 595th Strategic Communications Squadron, described as a “highly secure solid state digital storage solution.” The floppy drives were fully retired in June.
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Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:14 am to Street Hawk
quote:
8-inch floppie
That was my nickname in college.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:14 am to Street Hawk
Still more advanced than Iran's air force.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:18 am to Street Hawk
Trading them in for 20 cm floppies, finally switching to the metric system.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:20 am to Street Hawk
I'll be on the lookout to buy some at my local Military Surplus Store.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:23 am to Street Hawk
I just watched the Last Week tonight show on that last night - was shocking how lax security was at silo's, and how archaic the systems used were.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:34 am to Street Hawk
quote:
SAACS is an upgrade that swaps the floppy disk system for what Lt. Col. Jason Rossi, commander of the Air Force’s 595th Strategic Communications Squadron, described as a “highly secure solid state digital storage solution.”
They've upgraded --
This post was edited on 10/18/19 at 10:35 am
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:47 am to Street Hawk
The new system will require two officers to launch simultaneously. And should the missile fail, simply take out the codes and blow on them.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:52 am to Street Hawk
well they had to after this kid got in with an IMSAI 8080 running CP/M ... of course he cleverly got around security with an acoustic modem
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:54 am to Street Hawk
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:55 am to Street Hawk
My 8” floppy is stills serving its purpose
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:55 am to Street Hawk
Archaic technology that is airgapped and is buried 100 feet into rock is fricking SECURE. You've got to get physical access to the equipment to do anything with it and not too many people go around the silos without being noticed. Even if you do get close to it, you've got to use old technology that is way harder to hide than a nano thumb drive.
It starts becoming a liability, though, when it's so archaic that the chance of misuse and hardware failure increases to the point that mission availability suffers.
You want a maximally secure nuclear weapon, but you also want it to still be able to turn a city into plasma. A secure ICBM that doesn't work is just an expensive hole in the ground.
It starts becoming a liability, though, when it's so archaic that the chance of misuse and hardware failure increases to the point that mission availability suffers.
You want a maximally secure nuclear weapon, but you also want it to still be able to turn a city into plasma. A secure ICBM that doesn't work is just an expensive hole in the ground.
This post was edited on 10/18/19 at 10:57 am
Posted on 10/18/19 at 10:55 am to Street Hawk
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:13 am to Street Hawk
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:15 am to Street Hawk
I wish i had an 8 inch floppie
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:19 am to Street Hawk
Yep, much better that we put our military security secrets out on the web. Nobody will hack it. The military says its completely secure. Nothing to worry about.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:31 am to Street Hawk
Many nuclear power plant reactor protection control systems are on these same kind of floppy disks. It's a monumental task to change to modern technology because of concerns with both cyber security and ensuring reliability of a new system.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:32 am to Street Hawk
Damn. No more "I'd download her onto my floppy" jokes.
It's the end of an era.
It's the end of an era.
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:34 am to Street Hawk
Yes what we need to do is make our nuclear weapons systems more hackable
Posted on 10/18/19 at 11:35 am to Street Hawk
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