Submission + - Forced patching - Did anyone say Big Brother ? 1
einar.petersen writes: So fellow /. 'ers.
In my country of residence, Denmark, voices are publicly discussing FORCED PATCHING of peoples computer/operating systems etc. as a way to keep the masses safe on the internet.
As an IT professional I was in shock and disbelief when I first heard of the idea on the second of April this year, and thought some journalist had just been sucked in.
But alas it was not a delayed Aprils fools joke played on an unsuspecting journalist, there are actually people here who believe 1) It is a good idea, 2) It is doable.
What makes this even worse is that having a patched system might become mandatory in order to access your government service pages (The Danish government is moving towards e-governance as a cost savings measure).
But even worse it is not far fetched to see the logical consequence that it might become mandatory to keep your system patched to be allowed to get onto the Internet as well.
In my head I'm thinking, "What patches?", "To which operation system?", and "To which programs?"
Another thought screaming in my head is freedom of choice! Will everyone be forced to use the same operating system, if not who is to choose which?
I would like to access the collective thoughts vregarding this matter and deliver a serious punch in the stomach of this initiative.
The people who must be made to understand the arguments are potentially politicians and laymen.Thus I must ask you to explicitly explain in the simplest of terms, (examples welcome) why forced patching is a bad idea.
I truly hope for an entertaining debate and good arguments regarding the matter.
Best Regards.
Einar Petersen
