Air Force Special Operations cancels iPad buy

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120221_7036.php

By Bob Brewin
Nextgov
02/21/2012

The Air Force Special Operations Command canceled its planned 
acquisition of Apple iPad tablet computers last week, two days after 
receiving a query from Nextgov about the inclusion of Russian-developed 
security and documents reader software specified in procurement 
documents.

The command did not provide any explanation for the move in its notice 
on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Officials originally 
planned to acquire 2,861 iPad2 tablet computers to serve as electronic 
flight bags, storing digital versions of paper charts and technical 
manuals. The procurement -- kicked off in January -- specified the use 
of GoodReader software developed in Russia to meet mission security 
requirements.

Michael McCarthy, director of the Army's smartphone project, Connecting 
Soldiers to Digital Applications, based in Fort Bliss, Texas, told 
Nextgov last week he would not use software developed in Russia because 
he would not want to expose end users to potential risk.

Bernie Skoch, a defense industry consultant and a retired Air Force 
brigadier general with extensive security experience and a student 
pilot, said with mission-critical applications, every line of source 
code must be examined to ensure it does not contain malicious code. It 
does not take much imagination "to conjure the catastrophic 
consequences" that could result from malicious code in an electronic 
flight bag, he said.

[...]


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