EUOS: Inside the European Union's Bold Move to Break Free from Windows
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In a recent episode of Security Now, hosts Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte discussed an exciting development in the European public sector: the European Union's initiative to create its own Linux-based operating system, dubbed "EUOS." This project represents a significant step toward digital sovereignty for European institutions and potentially marks the beginning of a broader shift away from proprietary operating systems like Microsoft Windows.
EUOS (European Union Operating System) is described as a "proof of concept" for developing a Fedora-based Linux distribution with a KDE Plasma desktop environment specifically tailored for public sector organizations. According to Robert Ryman, the head of sector for digital transformation at the European Data Protection Supervisor in Brussels who's spearheading the project, EUOS is positioned as "secure, sovereign, and sleek."
The project's three core principles highlight its mission:
Secure: An open-source operating system that "does not phone home," addressing privacy concerns
Sovereign: Built to the requirements of the EU public sector, inherently honoring GDPR
Sleek: Fast and eco-friendly on both new and old hardware
Gibson noted that EUOS isn't technically creating a new operating system from scratch. Rather, it aims to provide a standardized Linux environment that can be deployed across EU public sector organizations with options for national, regional, and organization-specific modifications.
The motivations behind EUOS mirror those of previous government-level shifts to Linux:
Independence from vendor lock-in: As Gibson highlighted from the EUOS documentation, "Microsoft has shown us what it means to be dependent upon a vendor." When Microsoft ends support for older operating systems, organizations are forced into upgrades that may require new hardware and training.
Cost efficiency: The "public money, public code" principle means eliminating per-seat license costs.
Control over business processes: The ability to deploy new technologies with controlled costs and schedule software migrations on their own terms.
Security and sovereignty: Having the ability to analyze code independently for security purposes.
Leo Laporte expressed strong support for this initiative, stating he's "been advocating for this forever, especially in the public sector."
Gibson detailed several previous government migrations to Linux, demonstrating that EUOS isn't pioneering uncharted territory:
Russia's Astra Linux: Widely deployed within the Russian Federation
China's Kylan: Together with Neo-Kylan, it holds a 90% market share within the Chinese government
Cuba's Nova Linux: Developed partly in response to US embargoes that made Windows updates difficult
France's Gendarmerie: One of the largest Linux desktop deployments in the EU public sector with about 82,000 seats
Munich, Germany: Began migrating from Windows to a custom Debian GNU/Linux in 2003
Swiss Federal Court: Moved to Solaris and open-source applications in 2001
EUOS is not designed for individual home users but for system administrators managing corporate environments. It focuses on creating "a common method to manage users and their data, software and devices" with or without Active Directory.
The project proposes using Fedora-based Linux distributions, with potential for commercial support during the transition phase until organizations can build internal expertise. Gibson explained that EUOS is particularly focused on deployment management through GitLab, creating infrastructure for Linux similar to what Microsoft has built for Windows in corporate environments.
Both hosts touched on an interesting philosophical question about open-source projects. Gibson referenced an XKCD comic about modern software stacks resting on projects "some random person in Nebraska has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003," highlighting the potential fragility of relying on volunteer-maintained components.
"What has been accomplished, as evidenced by the creation of this EUOS unification project, is truly a stunning achievement," Gibson remarked, while expressing concern about the sustainability of the open-source model as more of the world depends on it.
Laporte suggested that the motivation behind open-source development might be shifting from purely altruistic to politically and economically motivated, noting that "people are starting to resent these big corporations' extraction of value from them."
The hosts discussed how AI might eventually help maintain open-source projects, with Laporte suggesting that "maintainers of these projects may be AI-based" in the future, potentially solving sustainability concerns.
Gibson pointed out that Windows-centricity remains dominant in the US, but EUOS could provide a path for smaller organizations to migrate away from Windows, especially as Microsoft's policies "attempt to force wholesale hardware replacement" with new operating system requirements.
For the EU, EUOS represents not just a technical shift but a political statement about digital sovereignty, data protection, and independence from foreign technology companies.
As governments and organizations worldwide face increasing pressure to secure their digital infrastructure and control their technological destiny, initiatives like EUOS may well represent the future of public sector computing.
