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Every bit nosotros've covered before, North Korea has its own version of Linux called Ruby Star OS. A pair of German researchers have just given the lawmaking a once over — and every bit you'd expect, information technology'south locked down and oppressive, and worse than just a weaker version of other Linux distros. Information technology's geared toward enabling and maintaining a total surveillance land, all while giving the illusion of technological progress to its citizens.

Red Star 3.0 was first leaked in 2022. We knew then that while it'due south even so based on Linux, information technology ditched its former Windows XP-fashion UI for that of a mid-2000s-era Mac OS X machine. Ruby Star Os uses KDE 3 and is bachelor simply in Korean, and is localized to North Korean spellings and terms. It contains a Firefox-based browser called Naenara for browsing the land'southward intranet, along with an e-mail client, media players, a music composition program, games, and a text editor.

Nether the hood, information technology'southward much worse. The researchers found that amongst Scarlet Star three.0'due south capabilities, if you'd call them that, are watermarking different file types in club to track the distribution of documents and media files via USB stick, in a presumed effort to crack downwardly on Western media creeping into the country.

Red Star OS: Looks a bit like OS X, eh?

Blood-red Star OS: Looks a bit like Bone X, eh?

The OS also has its ain way of encrypting files. The researchers said that the arrangement is "designed to defend and protect itself from changes fabricated from user space," and that the features implemented in Blood-red Star Os are "the moisture dream of a surveillance land dictator." For example, if a user does make a change to the Bone, similar disabling an antivirus checker or firewall, the estimator will display an error or even just reboot itself, according to a divide report in The Guardian.

It's impossible to know only how many people even have access to computers in North Korea to begin with. Reports have circulated that the 14-twelvemonth-one-time Windows XP is still floating effectually on machines, and Kim Jong-un has been photographed in front of an iMac before. Information technology'due south been suggested that North Korea is non only surveilling its citizens, but is also paranoid that other countries could install back doors to prevent snooping from other countries.

It's naught new that dictators force their citizens to use special operating systems. Dorsum in 1999, China began developing Red Flag Linux, and Red Star Os in Northward Korea dates to 2002. Cuba also has its own Nova OS. The ultimate goal, aside from the in a higher place, is to ensure the populace is kept in line and isolated from any possible influence effectually the earth.

All this, heed you, from open-source software that was originally designed to promote freedom. The irony is breathtaking.