First domestic operating system opens for public agencies

Turkey is counting down the days for the installation of the first locally made operating system, which will be utilized in all public agencies around the country next year. The system, known as PARDUS, is named after a rare Anatolian leopard and will be available to all government networks in 2017.

The Linux-based operating system, developed by the state-run Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK), is being presented as a solution for cybersecurity problems and a way to save millions of lira with the use of a domestic product.

PARDUS is currently available at the Science, Industry and Technology Ministry and will officially be installed in agencies including the Turkish Patent Institute, the Turkish Standards Institute and agencies that oversee small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the end of the year.

The operating system, originally developed by an engineer and project manager, will be overseen by a new team of 65 professionals who joined the team as Turkey seeks to expand its use in governmental systems.

The operating system is the latest in Turkey's domestic production campaign as the country aims to put an end to its dependency on imports in all sectors. Engineers have already begun to develop Turkey's first domestically produced automobile while the defense industry is leading efforts in a campaign for domestic tanks and rifles. The government hopes to save millions of lira with PARDUS, which will eliminate the license fees required for other operating systems as well as maintenance costs.

Public agencies currently use Microsoft systems, which are vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to Turkish authorities. Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık called Microsoft systems "too vulnerable," and "open to any kind of cyberattack. Our own system will prevent such attacks."

The development of PARDUS began in 2003 and was released in its first full version two years later. The last personal edition was released in 2013 and, since then, corporate versions exclusively designed for public agencies and businesses have been released. PARDUS boasts broad support for Turkish-language applications and constant security updates to protect against the latest viruses and security vulnerabilities while keeping costs low.