Are America's nuclear systems so old they're un-hackable?

[Renew Deal]

As the Cold War drew to a close a surprising contender emerged as the third largest nuclear power on earth: Ukraine. The country was home to some 5,000 nuclear weapons, placed there by Moscow when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. Kyiv sent the weapons back to Russia in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S. and Britain and a promise from Moscow that it would respect its sovereignty.

Then, President Vladimir Putin invaded in February.

The nuclear option, which many thought had been largely removed from the table, was one of the first sabers Putin chose to rattle when he announced that Russian troops were moving into Ukraine in February. He reminded the world that not only did Russia possess nuclear weapons, but it was prepared to use them. Anyone who “tries to stand in our way,” he said, will face consequences “such as you have never seen in your entire history.”

The threat raised an uncomfortable question: After decades of pursuing disarmament talks and assuming nuclear confrontation was a bridge too far, was the United States ready for the ultimate confrontation with Russia?

Right up until three years ago, U.S. nuclear systems were using eight-inch floppy disks in a IBM System 1 computer first introduced in 1976. It was not connected to the internet and required spare parts often sourced from eBay. Some analysts think America’s slow-walk toward modernization of its nuclear systems may turn out to have been a canny strategy: because the systems are so old, they are practically un-hackable.


https://therecord.media/are-americas-nuclear-systems-so-old-theyre-un-hackable

[bucolic_frolic]

1. All that Pentagon money and our nuclear software is 1976?

[former9thward]

2. One problem with old things and things that are never used.

They fall apart. In the 80s I was part of a Air Force audit team examining our missiles in the Dakotas. We found that 40% of the missiles or silos were inoperable due to corrosion. I won't comment on the subject matter of the OP but there are other serious issues.

[Hoyt]

3. Interesting thought.

[gab13by13]

4. My services are not available,

I got over 100 free programs for my Commodore 64. That was when I was a rebel kid.

[Joenobody]

5. Key here is "not connected to the internet."

Hacking a self contained system is pretty much impossible without a physical presence there.

Even if they were modernized, they would still be air gapped to make sure nothing can access them from outside.

[canuckledragger]

6. Have you ever watched Mr. Robot?

It's a series about a super hacker, played by Rami Malek that takes on a huge corporation with it's dirty hands in just about everything and tries to bring it down

There's an episode where him and his team need to access a highly secure digital security company and destroy back-up files contained within. They wind up attacking the problem indirectly, by finding a way to attack environmental controls instead, raising the temperature in the room storing the physical media itself and destroying it that way.

Where there's a will there's a way, sometimes in ways people never think of.

[MerryBlooms]

7. We've predicted every move before putin

Made it. We continue to do so. We and all NATO countries have surveillance up 24/7, including over Kalingrad. We know what putin's doing before he does.

[Shipwack]

8. Surprised the Air Force let things get that bad...

I had more respect for them than that. Then again, this is the same branch of service that accidentally ejected a missile from it's silo by dropping a 14 pound wrench onto it...

It's been about 15 years since I set foot on a missile sub, but I think I am allowed to say that we might have only been ten years behind the technology curve. I can also state for a fact that 99%+ of our nuclear tipped missiles* work and meet accuracy specifications. We test a couple every year, randomly.

Can't speak for the army, But I know my leg of the triad could do its job...

*The existence or numbers of I can neither confirm nor deny, of course.