Does it seem odd that with Chinese hackers exploiting Internet Explorer 6 vulnerabilities to infiltrate Google’s network, so many Government departments are actively prevented from upgrading to a safer, more usable browser?
As noted in the Bristol Programming blog, the numbers are almost unbelievable. Together with an undisclosed number of desktops in the Ministry of Justice using the vulnerable and out of date browser, the figures for IE6 in Government are breathtaking:
- More than 750,000 workstations in the NHS
- 500,000 in the Department of Work and Pensions
- 300,000 in the Ministry of Defence
Is it possible that the cost to Government that outsourced IT providers would demand to upgrade the browser are so high that it is worth the risk of compromise? There must be some major national security threat if users ever get the ability to use tabbed browsing; what else could explain the reluctance to upgrade? Perhaps some bold MP would like to ask the question in Parliament.
To read the original article click here to visit the Bristol Programming blog