THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the recent WannaCry ransomware attack, Administrative Reforms Commission chairman V S Achuthanandan has urged all government offices in the state to switch over from Microsoft to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).
Though there is a policy decision to use FOSS, it has not been fully implemented so far, he said. During his term as CM, the CPM veteran had decided to install FOSS in all government offices.
In a statement, VS said as per available information, Microsoft-based computers were affected by the malware.
“Although there is a policy decision to switch over to FOSS, many offices
are still using proprietary software,” he said. “During 2001-06, there was an attempt to give training in Microsoft which was opposed. Many government offices have also accepted these changes.
However, the recent virus attack in the local self-government offices shows many have still not switched over to FOSS.”
VS urged the government to take urgent measures to ensure all government offices were free of Microsoft-based operating systems and software.