https://www.npr.org/2022/12/17/1143039868/the-revamped-nsa-museum-opens-with-displays-of-former-nuke-secrets-spy-artifacts

The DEC Alpha, an imposing but otherwise unremarkable black server, generates both the presidential authorization codes, which verify a command is coming from the president, as well as the codes that attach to specific weapons, to verify the weapon hasn't been stolen before being launched. While the NSA needs supercomputers to aid in generating the codes, the machine that creates the physical piece of paper isn't all that complicated, explained Houghton. After a thorough review within the government, and after these machines were replaced a few years ago, the agency determined it was safe to put the DEC Alpha on display.

It's a move that has stunned experts in the field.

On 2022-12-19, nor...@gmail.com <norebid@gmail.com> wrote:
> https://www.npr.org/2022/12/17/1143039868/the-revamped-nsa-museum-opens-with-displays-of-former-nuke-secrets-spy-artifacts
>
> The DEC Alpha, an imposing but otherwise unremarkable black server, generates both the presidential authorization codes, which verify a command is coming from the president, as well as the codes that attach to specific weapons, to verify the weapon hasn't been stolen before being launched. While the NSA needs supercomputers to aid in generating the codes, the machine that creates the physical piece of paper isn't all that complicated, explained Houghton. After a thorough review within the government, and after these machines were replaced a few years ago, the agency determined it was safe to put the DEC Alpha on display.
>
> It's a move that has stunned experts in the field.
>

Interesting. Does anyone know which operating system was in use ?

I couldn't see any mention of it in the article.

Simon.

--
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.

On 12/19/22 13:54, John Dallman wrote:
> In article <a12a3961-d4fd-4f39-9c1a-2536fee03977n@googlegroups.com>,
> norebid@gmail.com () wrote:
>
>> It's a move that has stunned experts in the field.
>
> That's a bit strange. The drives, and all the other non-volatile storage
> in the machine, will have been securely destroyed as the most basic of
> precautions. Provided no other Alpha systems are still in use in that
> field, there's nothing insecure about admitting which kind of
> programmable computer was used for cryptography. Several other kinds
> could have done the job.
>

Many moons ago there was an episode of 60 Minutes that involved not only
a visit to NSA HQ at Ft. Meade, MD but also a look at their datacenter
which showed aisle after aisle of racks full of DEC Alphas. A very
interesting thing to see. I wonder what occupies those datacenters
today? And, remember, there was a time when VMS was a DISA approved
operating system. At least up until about 2009.

bill