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Does the White House Have Wi-Fi?

fastcompany.com — Is the White House more of a museum than a working office? Does it even have WiFi? MSNBC has reported that on their first day on the job, Obama's White House staffers suffered from downgrades on every front. During the campaign and the transition, Obama's team was a Mac shop; they arrived in the White House to find six-year-old Windows PCs and ....

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 24, 2009

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  • Jough, on 01/23/2009, -50/+386"During the campaign and the transition, Obama's team was a Mac shop; they arrived in the White House to find six-year-old Windows PCs..."

    I don't understand why people tend to think of Macs as new and ahead of the curve. Just because Obama's team were Mac users didn't necessarily mean going to six year old Windows pcs is a step down. Who says the Macs they used weren't eight years old?

    Yes, I do understand that there were probably some downgrades from what they were used to, and no I have nothing against Macs. I just don't think the Mac should be looked at as such a God-sent invention.
  • colonelxc, on 01/24/2009, -1/+2176 year old windows software, AKA Office 2003 and XP
  • Gndoab, on 01/24/2009, -1/+195If one needs a secure network, it is done with wires. End of story.
  • lagmar, on 01/24/2009, -6/+177Wi-Fi is secure. Oh wait it's the opposite.
  • pacsurf, on 01/24/2009, -5/+163all these bloggers are complete IDIOTS, it's the white house, not starbucks.

    no wifi, no myspace, no facebook, no twitter, no iphones, no instant messaging, they're all security risks.

    In an enterprise environment, standardization is king.
  • mwrl, on 01/24/2009, -8/+130Soon to be headline: WHITE HOUSE HACKED; TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS GONE MISSING
  • inactive, on 01/24/2009, -2/+122"Not only that -- staffers were forbidden from accessing outside email accounts or chatting online, too."

    nothing wrong with that

  • HotGore, on 01/24/2009, -4/+117If I worked at IT for the White House and people bitched about not having Wi-Fi I would freak out. The White House should be the most secure building in the world and Wi-Fi is just a big potential problem.
  • alexnb185, on 01/24/2009, -3/+104Oh, hello retards! :D

    Shall I mention something you may have forgotten!?
    WI-FI is possibly the most un-secure thing about computers.

    So lets let our government run it and use it freely as they please!!
    Yay!
  • and303, on 01/24/2009, -5/+86I worked heavily in the Obama campaign for over a year, and I would say roughly 20% of the computers myself or my co-workers used were Macs. Including the administrative staff and the man himself.

    Apple and many other companies have been working the PR to make the world's favorite man look like a Mac user. It is called a "silent endorsement". Or did you think all these articles about his Blackberry were just THAT interesting?
  • Kakumeikeahi, on 01/23/2009, -6/+79It isn't like Obama and his staff are going to try to install HD Games anyway..

    Probably mostly e-mails/printing/paper work.. a 6 year old computer could surely do that. The one I use is probably 12 years old by now.
  • RyeBrye, on 01/24/2009, -4/+77You know Barack is in his office with a cantenna connected to his MacBook Pro, running Airsnort and working on cracking the WEP key of Fox News's AP down in the press room so he can get to The Pirate Bay without having to have IT open up ports on the firewall for him...
  • JHB800, on 01/24/2009, -1/+60Which most corporations and school districts still use. Hey XP is still the best Windows around, and they can always upgrade to Office 2007 if they're itching for updated software.
  • censormagnet, on 01/24/2009, -0/+58the police station behind my neighborhood does

    its open and its named '911'
    ive used it a few times when comcast ***** up their lines
  • Verchiel77, on 01/24/2009, -1/+54We're talking about the presidency and national security. The intraoffice technological infrastructure doesn't need to be a CES showroom, it needs to be *secure*
  • boonesfarm, on 01/24/2009, -2/+53Can you just imagine Sasha & Malia installing Limewire and downloading from the "linksys" SSID?
  • builtby, on 01/24/2009, -6/+53We'll defeat these terrorists with our superior technology. Osama Bin Laden, say hello to Windows ME!
  • silent128, on 01/24/2009, -1/+45I am very happy the white house does not have wi-fi and i hope they keep it that way.
  • JHB800, on 01/24/2009, -0/+42Yep. As a matter of fact, it violates the presidential records act, as well as some other security laws. And, there's the fact that they're, you know, supposed to be working.
  • bjstiktrix, on 01/24/2009, -21/+59Dubya had a hard time with them internets
  • fearlessfx, on 01/24/2009, -5/+41Trillions missing? Who would notice? Americans don't really seem to care what happens to their paid taxes anyway.

    I'm joking... but not really.
  • radu79, on 01/24/2009, -1/+33It's called a bailout..
  • mishaneah, on 01/24/2009, -1/+322WIRE1776
  • cam0man, on 01/24/2009, -9/+40I love the double standard here....people find out that the white house has 6 year old PC's and they moan about the downgrade, if they had upgraded all the systems to new mac books everyone would complain about the waste of tax dollars.

    Who cares if they use 6 year old computers? That's fine for web surfing, office applications, communication software, etc. Our tax dollars are paying for those systems, let them run the suckers til they start affecting productivity. Why would they need state of the art systems anyways? I really hope they're not firing up the office systems for a late night frag fest anytime soon.

    There's also huge issues of compliancy. If they upgrade these systems or used Macs, the whole system would be *****. The staff would be clueless, nothing would open on the new systems, it'd be a ***** show. There's a reason why MS is #1 in the workplace - everyone uses it and they're familiar, it makes it simple for everyone to be on the same page.
  • Kickinuarou, on 01/24/2009, -0/+30could the pentagon rival the white house in that 'most secure building in the world' label?
  • Gizza, on 01/24/2009, -0/+30So... business as usual then?
  • cadam, on 01/24/2009, -5/+34Mac people aren't usually used to Enterprise setups, let alone NATIONAL SECURITY STANDARDS. It's not like Windows costs the Gov't anything.. huge license agreements make sure of that. it's a SYSTEM.. from Workstation to router to SONET or ATM Switch... not some Mactards home network. Like to see how they will get a live predator feed providing real time data of a a flood area, or combat zone. and no.. Mac OS X ain't gonna work for something like that.. and the WH networks aren't part of the same internet most folks know of.. more than likely SIPRNET, at least.. so NO WIFI.

    As said before. it's not Starbucks.
  • sexybobo, on 01/24/2009, -3/+30the MSNBC report stated they had 6 Year old computer software not computers. They were bitching because they have XP and Office 2003.
  • Genma, on 01/24/2009, -0/+26and if you want real, real security you do it with quantum encrypted fiber.
  • DEIx15x8, on 01/24/2009, -4/+30If you consider the fact that windows users still prefer XP which came out in 2001 while Mac users mostly use Leopard which came out in 2007 it doesn't seem so bad to be using a PC closer to the OSs age.

    2007 OS with 2008 Mac Hardware
    to
    2001 OS with 2002 Windows Hardware

    Makes sense.
  • edebolt, on 01/24/2009, -2/+27if the WH goes Wi-Fi then they should definitely go for the premium monster cables because it really pumps up the sound and clarity.
  • iLemon, on 01/24/2009, -1/+26A couple of PS3s? LOL! you must be smoking crack to the max. If you use a random wpa2 encryption key that looks like "yo:=<"(pebZNgc}W.6]KV]?4 mKO'M-pN7Dp8[K~,}S@Y|PO yF/#ig<DOUM#Mp" it would take a couple ps3s a few hundred years to brute force. if you use a key like "whitehouse" you could do it pretty fast.
  • Xalorous, on 01/24/2009, -1/+25Pentagon does not allow wireless either. Most likely have to turn off and store cell phones/crackberries before entering secure areas.
  • inactive, on 01/24/2009, -0/+22@mwrl

    That's reassuring. The military uses Windows XP as an operating system, but uses an Office suite that only runs on Macs.
  • GliTCH82, on 01/24/2009, -0/+22Yes, we CAN!-tenna.
  • coz23, on 01/24/2009, -2/+23Surely SOMEONE on digg has recently taken a tour of the white house and surreptitiously whipped out their ipod touch to see if there's any GEORGE'S LINKSYS floating around, right?
  • flyingclutchman, on 01/24/2009, -5/+26so you are mad that this writer and the website actually have integrity?
  • 4DFX, on 01/24/2009, -1/+21WPA2 + CCMP + RADIUS + a strong password = uncrackable (maybe someday it will be, but definitely not in the next 4 years)
  • Shadic, on 01/24/2009, -2/+22Giuliani has gotten to me. When you said "911," I thought of "9-11" instead of, you know, the emergency number.

    *****.
  • Emachine, on 01/25/2009, -0/+18ha ha, use it to pirate *****, it would be funny when the police station gets copyright infringement letters
  • inactive, on 01/24/2009, -4/+22dammit I can't bury this ***** fast enough, someone help me please.
  • JHB800, on 01/24/2009, -0/+18No, as a matter of fact he cannot. WiFi is too easy to hack, which is why they will never install it. They apparently tried to do it while Bush was in office, but they could never make it secure enough.

    He also has to deal with bureaucracy to get the macs. The white house, like all other governmental departments, has a budget, and any expenditures have to be approved. If they can't justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on new tech (to replace tech that works perfectly well for their jobs), they won't get it.
  • Compactman, on 01/24/2009, -1/+19No kidding people need to realize not all wireless sets up like your dlinks setup wizard.
  • spiderfish, on 01/24/2009, -0/+17Technically it's just as secure as ethernet, but 802.1x certificates or passwords can be stolen though social engineering (I hate this word) and let someone access the network from any place within the wifi range. IMO in that aspect passing cables is still more reliable and it's also easier to enforce security policies that way.
  • boonesfarm, on 01/24/2009, -3/+19At least he had the decency to leave the "W" keys when he left.
  • inactive, on 01/24/2009, -4/+20Fi-Wi is so ***** secure.
  • ravage86, on 01/24/2009, -0/+15It seems you are confusing "president" with "dictator". He has his role to play, but that doesn't mean he runs the country. It's not an IT position anyways, and I'm sure they have what they have for a reason.
  • Kevin108, on 01/24/2009, -1/+15There's nothing wrong with 6-year-old Windows systems in most office environments. I think lagging technology is a fiscally responsible policy. Does the office staff in the White House really need Alienware to run MS Word?
  • sexybobo, on 01/24/2009, -0/+14@Compactman
    I work at a chiropractic college and we have student that spoof there mac addresses so they can connect to our wired netwrok instead of the wireless.
    MAC address filtering is not secure
    Hidden netoworks are only secure till some one looks at some one elses pc and sees the name.
    WPA2 can be cracked.
  • radu79, on 01/24/2009, -4/+18So now we all have to pay the Apple tax? WTF..
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