When Edward Snowden leaked a number of top secret documents detailing National Security Agency’s spying programs, a lot of questions were raised regarding the alleged participation of some of U.S.A’s top software and internet companies. Microsoft was named in those documents as one of the participants of NSA’s PRISM program. A German publication called Zeit Online claims to have obtained leaked documents that reveal IT experts within the German government believe that Windows 8 is a “security risk.”
According to the publication, the experts contend that Windows 8 contains a backdoor which cannot be closed. They’re concerned about how Windows 8 works with Trusted Platform Modules. It is believed that the backdoor might allow Microsoft and even the NSA to remotely control any computer running Windows 8. From 2015, every computer will come with Windows 8.x, thus leaving simply no way for a user to tell what Microsoft might be doing to their system via remote updates. The experts reportedly conclude that due to the “loss of control over the capabilities of information technology” the security principles of confidentiality and integrity are no longer achievable. While Windows 8 is termed “unusable” due to the alleged backdoor, one document is cited as saying that Windows 7 can be securely used until 2020, after which they will have to find other solutions.