Exploring Software Flaws in Air Force Commercial Networks

ccording to Gilligan, a new vulnerability is discovered nearly every day in the commercial software products the Air Force uses – not just Microsoft, but also Linux, Oracle and Cisco Systems. "What we are now reaping is the unfortunate consequence of an era of software development in the 90s, when the rush to get the product to market overrode the importance of correctness in the quality of the software."

And in a time of "net-centric warfare," a highly reliable network is essential for the Air Force. "The military, as most organizations are, is increasingly using commercially developed software," he adds. "When it proves to have significant vulnerabilities, that could, at a minimum, deny us the ability to use that system. That's a big deal."

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