North Korea Has Its Own Computer Operating System

Secrets of North Korea's Red Star Computer Operating System Revealed

Jeremy Wagstaff and James Pearson | December 28, 2015

North Korea's homegrown computer operating system mirrors its political one, according to two German researchers who have delved into the code: a go-it-alone approach, a high degree of paranoia and invasive snooping on users.
Their research, the deepest yet into the secretive state's Red Star operating system, illustrates the challenges Pyongyang faces in trying to embrace the benefits of computing and the internet while keeping a tight grip on ideas and culture.
The researchers, Florian Grunow and Niklaus Schiess of German IT security company ERNW,  presented their findings to the Chaos Communication Congress, a gathering of hackers and security researchers, in Hamburg on Sunday.

Red Star is meant to be a replacement for Windows XP, which remains a dominant OS in North Korea. Until recently, it actually looked almost exactly like Windows XP. Now, however, it’s been redesigned to mimic OS X — believed to be the favorite of both Kim Jong-un and his late father. Source: http://www.geek.com/news/north-koreas-linux-based-os-is-a-snooping-machine-1643189/

<more at http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/secrets-of-north-koreas-red-star-computer-operating-system-revealed-20151227-glvk2i.html; related links: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26047439 (Apple's Mac OSX imitated in latest North Korea system. February 5, 2014) and http://www.businessinsider.com/r-paranoid-north-koreas-computer-operating-system-mirrors-its-political-one-2015-12 (North Korea's 'Red Star' computer-operating system watermarks every document and file in order to track its users. December 28, 2015); further: http://www.geek.com/news/north-koreas-linux-based-os-is-a-snooping-machine-1643189/ (North Korea’s Linux-based OS is a snooping machine. December 28, 2015)>