South Korea could switch to Linux
Interior Ministry reveals it is testing Linux – and if no security issues are found, could switch to the OS.
the South Korean government’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it is testing running Linux on government PCS. If the tests are a success, and Linux is rolled out to all PCS used by the South Korean government, it will be another big win for the open source operating system.
Currently, most PCS used by the South Korean government run Windows 7, but with Microsoft’s free technical support ending on 14 January 2020, it appears the government is looking at ways to avoid the costs of continuing to use the ageing operating system. However, according to the Korea Herald (http://bit.ly/ Lxf252koreaherald) the cost of moving to Linux – and buying new PCS – is expected to cost the government around 780 billion won (£519 million). Savings will be made due to not having to license the open source OS.
Choi Jang-hyuk, the ministry’s digital service bureau chief, is also reported as saying that the government hopes it will avoid having to rely on a single operating system. We always welcome news of governments making the switch to Linux
and open source software, and avoiding having to rely on a single OS is also wise. After all, Microsoft’s decision to end free support for Windows 7, and charge for continued support, has left institutes at the mercy of the company’s whims. Switching to Linux will avoid this
But it’s not a done deal just yet. The South Korean government is currently testing deploying Linux on private networked devices to check for security risks and to ensure compatibility with websites and software that have been designed to run on Windows.