Google employees will have to phase out any usage of Microsoft Windows due to security concerns. The FT quotes “several Google employees” as saying that there is a company directive to move to other operating systems and indeed the migration away from Windows has apparently been happening since January.

Shiny, happy Google offices, don’t get caught using Windows in there though.

That came after Google’s Chinese operations were hacked, and could effectively end the use of Windows at Google, which employs more than 10,000 workers internationally. “We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” said one Google employee. Another employee added, “Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks.”

The FT says that new hires are now given the option of using Apple’s Mac computers or PCs running the Linux operating system. “Linux is open source and we feel good about it,” said one employee. “Microsoft we don’t feel so good about.”

In early January, some new hires were still being allowed to install Windows on their laptops, but it was not an option for their desktop computers. Google would not comment on its current policy.

Employees wanting to stay on Windows required clearance from “quite senior levels”, one employee said. “Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval,” said another.

In addition to being a semi-formal policy, employees themselves have grown more concerned about security since the China attacks. “Particularly since the China scare, a lot of people here are using Macs for security,” said one employee.

Employees said it was also an effort to run the company on Google’s own products, including its forthcoming Chrome OS, which will compete with Windows. “A lot of it is an effort to run things on Google product,” the employee said. “They want to run things on Chrome.”

Overall, the timing of the employees getting chatty with the FT has the air of Google getting in a slight dig at Windows to pump up the possibilities of Chrome. Whether other companies will follow Google’s example should be interesting to note though.