nuclear-news

Antiquated computer systems at USA’s nuclear missile facilities

America’s feared nuclear missile facilities are still controlled by computers from the 1960s and floppy disks

• 60 Minutes received a tour of the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the storage facility of 450 nuclear warheads and a Minuteman III missile
  
• The facility was built in the 1960s to withstand a nuclear attack and alot of its equipment dates back to that time
  
• The floppy disks that contain the missile launch codes are safe and effective because it allows center to stay disconnected from the internet and prevent cyber terrorism, the military claims
  
• Tour comes in the wake of a major cheating scandal that has implicated 91 Air Force nuclear missile officers, nine of which were fired
  

Mail Online, By JOEL CHRISTIE, 27 April 2014 The isolated U.S. military silo that contains one of deadliest nuclear arsenals in the world – some 450 warheads that are each 20 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima – is being controlled by computers dating back to 1960s and a launch system that relies on floppy disks.

But security officials maintain their methods are not only functional but hack-free, with the underground control room in Wyoming not connected to the internet, stopping any cyber terrorists gaining control over the weapons.

60 Minutes gained access to the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne and will broadcast its full report from the facility tonight.

CBS Correspondent Lesley Stahl said she believed the unprecedented invitation to take a look inside was part of a move by the military to show the public their system was safe in the wake of a widespread cheating scandal among their ranks.

Four Air Force nuclear missile officers were found to be at the center of the still-unfolding scandal, with nine officers were fired at the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, and 82 others facing disciplinary action after being caught cheating on proficiency tests.

The officers need to get 100 percent on the exams in order to work at facilities, such as the one in Cheyenne.

The four ‘librarians’, as they have been dubbed, allegedly faciliated the cheating, in part by transmitting test answers via text message. ….. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2614323/Americas-feared-nuclear-missile-facilities-controlled-computers-1960s-floppy-disks.html#ixzz30DZNgbTC

April 28, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA, weapons and war