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| Hancom Group Vice Chairman Lee Sang-heon, sixth from left, with ROK Army officials during a briefing session about the Army's operating system migration project at the Ministry of National Defense Convention Center in Yongsan, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Hancom Group |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Hancom has been chosen to lead the ROK Army's project of changing operating systems (OS) for digital command, from Microsoft's Windows 7 to the open-source OS Gureum, the company said Thursday.
The ROK Army has been using the Windows 7 OS for its C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence) system, which is used to connect troops in the battlefield to distant headquarters.
However, it plans to introduce the Gureum OS, developed by the state-run National Security Research Institute, as Microsoft will end its 10-year technical support for Windows 7 by January 2020.
The OS migration project is in line with the government's continuing efforts to avoid relying too heavily on Microsoft, which has been dominating the country's computer OS market. Under its attempts, several state-run public agencies have been adopting an open-source OS.
"By using the Gureum OS, the ROK Army can break its subordination to Microsoft. Hancom will develop security measures for devices that run the military command system and also make other application programs to be available on the Gureum OS," Hancom said.
Led by Hancom, the project, worth 3.66 billion won ($310 million), will run until 2021. Other software companies taking part include Joeun I&S, Softcamp and eActive, as well as Sejong University.
Hancom said Lee Sang-heon, vice chairman of Hancom, and officials from participating companies and organizations had a briefing session in front of ROK Army officials at the Ministry of National Defense Convention Center in Yongsan, Seoul.
Developed by the National Security Research Institute, the Gureum platform is an open-source OS and about 30 local companies have been joining the platform business. Hancom joined the project in 2015.
Based on the Debian Linux free OS, the National Security Research Institute applied its own security framework to the platform to ensure secure access to end users. The platform offers its own web browser and centric management system that can support cloud computing. It also enables operators to control the access of users and devices.
To expand the features of the platform, Hancom will develop a word processor running only on the Gureum OS and upgrade the web browser.
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