14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP continues to be the second most-used operating system worldwide, so quite a lot of users, organizations, and authorities across the world are still running it right now.
The United States Navy is one of the government bodies still running Windows XP, according to a report published today by PilotOnline, but local authorities have already signed an agreement with Microsoft to receive extended support and custom patches to make sure that their PCs are on the safe side until the upgrade to a newer operating system is completed.
“It’s a big Navy problem and we’re trying to get our hands around it still,” Steve Dunn, executive director of the Atlantic operations of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, told the aforementioned source.
“Given the scale and scope of Windows XP’s use, the Department has a Custom Support Agreement with Microsoft that provides support for all critical security hotfixes and helps maintain our security posture for both ashore and afloat networks,” a Navy spokesperson added.
According to details provided by Navy officials, the agreement with Microsoft covers the next three years, which means that it might take a while until all XP computers are upgraded. The United States Navy is expected to pay $3.6 million (€2.6 million) for the first year alone, the source added.
We've also reached out to Microsoft for some comments on this, so we'll update the article when and if we get an answer.