Why is India’s Defence Ministry ditching Microsoft Windows for Ubuntu-based Maya OS?

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Awareness in IT

Context:

India’s Defence Ministry has decided to replace Microsoft Operating System (OS) in all its computers that can connect to the Internet with Maya, an Ubuntu-based OS built locally.

Details:

The new OS is currently being rolled out only in the Defence Ministry computers, and not the three Services.

What is kernel architecture?

Devices powered by Microsoft’s OS run on the Windows NT kernel.
A kernel is the core of an operating system. It runs on a computer’s Random Access Memory (RAM) and gives the device instructions on how to perform specific tasks.
Prior to building the kernel architecture, programmers used to run codes directly on the processor.
In the 1970s,Danish computer scientist Per Brinch Hansen pioneered the approach of splitting what needs to be done by a processor from how it executes that task, thus introducing the kernel architecture in the RC 4000 multiprogramming system.
It separated policy from mechanism in the OS design.
This design was monolithic, meaning a single programme contained all necessary codes to perform kernel-related tasks.
This architecture provided rich and powerful abstraction for the underlying hardware. But it was also large and difficult to maintain as the lines of codes ran in the millions.
Limitations in the traditional architecture led to a new kernel design called the microkernel.
This design broke down the monolithic system into multiple small servers that communicate through a smaller kernel while giving more space for user customisations.
This change allowed developers to run patches easily without rebooting the entire kernel. It did have some drawbacks like larger running memory space and more software interactions that reduced the computer’s performance.

About Maya OS:

Developed by Indian government agencieswithin six months.
- Agencies involved: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
MayaOS has been named after the Sanskrit word Maya which means “illusion.”
It is aimed at preventing malware attacks by cybercriminals who are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure and government agencies.
The new OS will be backed by a protection system called Chakravyuh. This end point system is also being deployed in the computers that have Maya installed.
MayaOS has a similar interface and functionality as Windows, making it easy for users to adapt to it.

Difference between Windows OS and Maya OS:

Windows runs on a hybrid kernel architecture which is a microkernel design coupled with additional codes that help enhance performance.
Apple’s MacOS also uses a hybrid kernel called XNU.
And Ubuntu, a Linux OS that was used to build Maya, runs on monolithic architecture. Linux versions are called “distributions” or “distro”, and they comprise free and open-source software.
Android is also based on the Linux kernel.

Cyber threats and malware:

The cybersecurity firm FireEye, now rebranded as Trellix, discovered a cyber spy campaign that compromised dozens of government agencies and private organisations in the U.S.
IT software provider SolarWinds’ network management software, Orion was hacked and replaced by malware.
Apart from cybersecurity, the reason behind this move is to assist IT modernisation efforts.