In the wake of the China attacks that resulted in Google’s public threat to leave China, the search giant is abandoning Windows due to concerns over security.
According to the Financial Times, the technology titan has been slowly phasing out the use of Windows internally since January, not long after it was assaulted by Chinese hackers.
Google’s policies surrounding the internal use of Windows aren’t clear-cut, though. Some employees can still install Windows on their laptops, but not their desktop computers. However, Googlers need explicit permission from “quite senior levels” in order to keep using the Windows OS.
The move makes sense: Windows and Internet Explorer have been implicated as vectors in which hackers accessed personal accounts and confidential data from Google’s servers. And, of course, Microsoft is also one of Google’s primary competitors.
It’s important to note that later this year, Google is expected to release Chrome OS, the company’s web-centric operating system. However, the decision to leave Windows behind doesn’t seem to be motivated by the impending release of its experimental OS.
