14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft today announced that it has signed a deal with the Dutch government to continue providing Windows XP support for 12 more months, until the local computers are all upgraded to a newer Windows version.
Dutch News is reporting that Microsoft and authorities in the Netherlands have signed a “multimillion Euro deal,” but no specific figures have been provided for the time being.
According to the report, between 34,000 and 40,000 computers used by the government and its departments will be updated as part of the deal, in order to make sure that no vulnerabilities are exposing data and make the systems easier to hack.
Microsoft last week signed a similar deal with the United Kingdom, again to provide support for Windows XP computers for another 12 months until all machines are moved to newer software.
Windows XP will officially be retired tomorrow and Microsoft will deliver the last batch of updates to all computers on Tuesday morning. Afterwards, no other patches and security fixes will ever be released for Windows XP, so unpatched vulnerabilities would remain as such, making computers quite easy to hack if cybercriminals develop exploits based on the existing flaws.
Microsoft has warned with several occasions that sticking to Windows XP is not at all a good idea, but it’s no surprise that the company is making quite a lot of money by continuing to provide extended support to specific parties across the world.
Tim Rains, director of Trustworthy Computing Group, warned that Windows XP machines are very likely to be assaulted with a new wave of attacks after April 8 and as time passes by, other new vulnerabilities will be discovered and will expose users’ data.
“The types of attacks that we expect to target Windows XP systems after April 8th, 2014 will likely reflect the motivations of modern day attackers,” he said.
“Cybercriminals will work to take advantage of businesses and people running software that no longer has updates available to repair issues. Over time, attackers will evolve their malicious software, malicious websites, and phishing attacks to take advantage of any newly discovered vulnerabilities in Windows XP, which post April 8th, will no longer be fixed.”
The latest round of statistics provided by Net Applications shows that nearly 28 percent of computers worldwide are still running Windows XP, despite all these efforts to move everyone to a newer and more secure platform. Of course, many computers will miss the upgrade deadline, so it’s going to be a very bumpy road of those who decide to stay on XP for a little bit longer.