MICROSOFT has a lot of responsibility for the weaknesses that have exposed NHS networks to dangerous ransomware (“NHS hit by cyber attack as hackers demand ransom”, The Herald, May 13). For far too long it has pursued profit over quality of software. For many years it was happy to release software with new features, and let the users find and report the bugs in partly tested software instead of doing more thorough tests itself and encouraging high standards in code production. Then it blames the users for not making all the updates to correct the bugs that have been found, When viruses and malware came along, it regarded it as a commercial opportunity for providers of anti-virus software, instead of trying harder to correct its own fundamental weaknesses.
To an outsider it may sound as though keeping software updated is a doddle. But the sheer volume of daily updates makes it difficult. Not only are there updates to correct security weaknesses, many of them are about putting extra "hooks" or "features" in the software that allows Microsoft to get extra advertising opportunities or to send back data on user preferences and actions which advertisers will pay extra for. Thus there is a blizzard of updates, many of which are irrelevant to particular user setups and are not really security-related. Some updates or patches may even have side-effects in stopping trusted applications from other suppliers from running properly. This introduces extra delays while the updated system is tested. Compare this situation with the widely used Apple iPhone; operating system updates come relatively rarely. The same applies to the widely used Chrome browser from Google, or file servers based on the Linux operating system.
Microsoft should not be allowed to benefit from this crisis by demanding that the NHS should spend a lot on replacing old XP-based systems by the latest Microsoft offerings. Instead, an independent commission with a mix of IT experts and users should look at experience in other European countries and their resilience to ransomware. It may be that security-crucial components like local networks and file servers should be based on Linux, and Microsoft should be made to conform to them?
Peter MD Gray,
165, Countesswells Road, Aberdeen.
IT is no surprise that “employers are now having to teach graduates the basic writing skills” (Agenda, The Herald, May 15) nor that the First Minister should admit to Andrew Marr that Scottish youth has a problem with literacy and numeracy (“Sturgeon sticks her neck out on school reforms”, The Herald, May 15). It’s not just the Curriculum for Excellence that’s at fault; it’s the fact that our youth spend their days walking around in a trance glued to a smartphone or a tablet. They need to switch these hellish contraptions off, sit down with a book, read, count, and think.
In medical practice, I was never so happy as when the computers crashed. It meant I could get my head out of the screen, make eye contact with my patient, and say “How can I help you?” But the recent cyber attacks which have brought the NHS to its knees show what happens when you allow your entire life to be dominated by computers. The computers crash and you can’t function because you haven’t been trained to think from first principles. You are like a pilot who can’t navigate using compass turns and mental dead-reckoning. In short, you’re scuppered.
Dr Hamish Maclaren,
1 Grays Loan, Thornhill, Stirling.
HAVING worked as a medical secretary in years gone by, I recall that case notes in written form could always be found in filing cabinets and could be obtained very quickly – apart from the occasional one which I found in the consultant’s car boot.
We live in an age where the super high-tech is coming at a price …
Mary Hunter,
The Lochans, Main Street, Gartmore.
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