14 DAY TRIAL // The Indian government revealed that no less than 70 percent of the country’s ATMs are still running Windows XP, which no longer receives support since 2014.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in an announcement that some governments and companies indeed signed custom deals with Microsoft to receive support for their Windows XP cash machines, but even so, the transition to newer systems needs to be completed as soon as possible.
The Indian official has said the government is already working with banks and other parties on upgrading these systems, with approximately 22,000 ATMs to be included in this migration. Jaitley, however, admitted that it would take a lot of time to complete the upgrade, and he didn’t provide a target date when the transition is supposed to be ready.
Windows XP worldwide
The huge number of users who are still running Windows XP on their computers is still worrying, not only for Microsoft but also for customers and the organizations that stick with this operating system.
Windows XP no longer receives updates since April 2014, and this means that vulnerabilities and security flaws in the system are no longer patched, leaving users exposed to attacks should cybercriminals find holes that can be exploited.
Microsoft itself has warned that users need to migrate off Windows XP, and it is now encouraging everyone to switch to Windows 10, pointing to the security features available in this operating system as the main reason.
Jumping from Windows XP all the way to Windows 10, however, is not that easy and it’s a very costly process, especially because it also involves hardware upgrades and investments in software compatibility updates. Windows XP was launched in 2001, while Windows 10 hit the shelves in 2015.
For the moment, the Indian authorities are hoping the upgrade to a newer platform to go as smoothly as possible, but it remains to be seen how fast they actually manage to complete the transition.