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"If XP is for operational use, it is extremely risky. Why would you put an obsolete system in a new vessel that has a lifetime of decades?"Senior naval officers don't share Professor Woodward's concern. Mark Deller, commander air on the Queen Elizabeth, says the aircraft carrier's "very, very stringent procurement train... has ensured we are less susceptible to cyber than most." He also explains the carrier is surrounded by destroyers and an escort that can ward off attempts to jam Queen Elizabeth's radio signals. UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon is similarly confident the naval vessel is safe from attack. He voiced as much to BBC Radio 4's Today program:
"It's not the system itself, of course, that's vulnerable, it's the security that surrounds it. I want to reassure you about Queen Elizabeth, the security around its computer system is properly protected and we don't have any vulnerability on that particular score."Many on Twitter didn't buy into Secretary Fallon's assurances, however. https://twitter.com/dudekiller/status/879599138752667649 https://twitter.com/TippingsTipples/status/879609801545854976 The 65,000 ton HMS Queen Elizabeth, which appears to have been running Windows XP on-board since at least the end of 2015, has left the Rosyth dockyard and is heading to the North Sea for the summer.