Post by Willow on Apr 1, 2014 14:53:16 GMT 9.5
CHRIS GRIFFITH THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 01, 2014 12:00AM
COMPUTER users risk identity theft and having their PCs hacked and infiltrated if they are still using Microsoft Windows XP system after this week.
In what some say is the biggest global challenge in computing since the Y2K bug, Microsoft will cease providing security patches and technical support to Windows XP, rendering the 12-year-old system defenceless against viruses and malware. Support will end on April 8.
Microsoft Australia yesterday said about 1.5 million desktops and laptop computers out of 11-12 million still ran Windows XP locally, with small and medium businesses the slowest to upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.
Emmanuele Silanesu, Microsoft Australia product marketing manager for Windows, said Microsoft was in contact with “a handful” of large organisations who needed ongoing support for Windows XP. It would cost them $100,000 each in the next year; after that the cost would escalate to millions annually, he said.
In Australia, big banks, government departments, hospitals, health services including GP patient record systems and prescription dispensing systems were typically among those still staying with XP because of software incompatible with newer Windows versions, he said.
“Our services team is obviously negotiating with a number of the big banks and in particular whole of government agreements as well, because government in particular hasn’t had the money invested in this area for a number of years. They’re our biggest issues at the moment,” Mr Silanesu said.
“For banks in particular, a lot of this comes down to the applications they use not being written for the new operating systems so they have to have them rewritten.”
Gordon Maddern, chief technology officer of security consultancy Pure Hacking, said hackers had been sitting on exploits they would release after April 8. “I know that for a fact,” he said yesterday.
“It will literally be a matter of days afterwards.”
He said SCADA control systems, medical equipment and hotel booking systems typically still used Windows XP.
One of the big concerns is the extensive use of Windows XP by ATMs throughout the world. Mr Maddern said about 80 per cent of ATMs ran Windows XP.
Australia’s banks yesterday said that while they still had Windows XP-based ATMs and some systems, they were well advanced with upgrade plans.
Microsoft Australia said users of Windows XP Embedded — the form of Windows used in ATMs and other machinery — had until January 12, 2016 before support was cut.