Report: Google ditches Windows over security concerns

A report from the Financial Times says that many Google employees are indicating that Windows has been restricted from use within the company over security concerns.

Two unnamed employees were briefly quoted in the piece about the decision, which reportedly has Google employees offered Mac OSX and Linux as alternatives:

“We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” said one Google employee.

“Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks,” said another.

According to FT, the policy isn’t exactly new, as they say employees reported new hires being directed towards the other operating systems as early as January. It’s said that use of Windows requires some serious string pulling:

Employees wanting to stay on Windows required clearance from “quite senior levels”, one employee said. “Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval,” said another employee.

While some employees say the move has caused “mild discontent” within the company, others say that there would be more outcry if the Mac OS was banned. The consensus seems to be that the move is really a push to get workers to use Google products internally as well.

The hacking in China hastened the move. “Before the security, there was a directive by the company to try to run things on Google products,” said the employee. “It was a long time coming.”

Some feel that the reports out of Google are just rumors and that it is unlikely such a big player would ban something as ubiquitous as Windows in the workplace. As the reports all cite unnamed employees and Google has not commented publicly on the supposed policy, it is difficult to determine the credibility of the sources. ZDNet points out the limitations of a Windows ban at Google:

This story makes little sense to me. For starters, Google’s software products are made for — and marketed to — mainly Windows users. How exactly are software developers expected to build products for an operating system when they’re not allowed to use it?

As it stands, not one named person as confirmed the switch, so the extent of the ban (or whether it exists at all) is still not verified.