Re:Someone is hacking the hackers
by marshmallow_12 on Sunday March 07, 2021 @01:41PM
(#26378427)
which regs tells you what computers you can buy?
Sometimes medical devices and similar come with a computer as part of a whole certified system. The regulatory framework does not tell you which computer you can buy, precisely, but it does tell you what certifications your system must have to be used for a given purpose.
Changing out the part for an unapproved one, obviously, voids the certification.
Re:Someone is hacking the hackers
by reaperducer on Sunday March 07, 2021 @01:45PM
(#26378478)
which regs tells you what computers you can buy?
Not all machines are computers.
Or they may simply not have a choice.
My company has a particular automated machine that I have to work with once or twice a month. It is controlled by a computer that runs Windows XP. It can only run Windows XP because the company that made the software went out of business years ago.
Because of that, the control computer is not permitted on the public internet. When I interface with it, it's using a dedicated laptop through a VPN to a remote session which then accesses the control machine on a dialup connection. It's slow as heck, but since I only have to do it once or twice a month, I deal.
Just before the pandemic, we looked into replacing the circa 1995 automated machine with a new one. Because of the nature of the machine, and the local government regulations about replacing it, the cost would have been little over one million dollars. Not going to happen.
Everyone hates it. But that's why my company's IT department, which tries hard to keep up with the times, has a single Windows XP computer in its stable.