Windows XP Updates Halt Makes Systems Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks

We are witnessing historically important times and the end of an era, as of yesterday, Microsoft stopped patching and updating Windows XP, throwing the world into a storm of debates, controversies and arguments. Some people wondered, legitimately, who on Earth is still using Windows XP in 2014 and why would anybody do that? The answer is, if not surprising, at least concerning: Windows XP is still used on a large scale by companies delivering essential infrastructure – electricity companies, gas, oil, water, chemical and so on. Although it is hard to count all the infrastructure systems that run on Windows XP, according to specialists, the Windows XP updates halt turns them into vulnerable targets for cyber attacks and all sorts of hacking schemes. With the free patches no longer available, not only these companies are at risk for cyber attacks, but also all individual users who are still operating on the Windows XP.

Industrial vulnerability that comes together with the Windows XP updates halt was considered a threat long before the actual stopping of the free patches flow. Back at the beginning of March, the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control System Computer Emergency Readiness Team warned that due to the Windows XP Updates Halt, the

computer systems running unsupported software are exposed to an elevated risk to cyber-security dangers, such as malicious attacks or electronic data loss

However, on the other side of the fence, there are those who are not panicking at all and who consider this alleged threat as being blown out of proportion, but that is because nobody actually patched their Windows XP working networks in the past either, therefore there is no bigger threat now as it was before. Adam Crain, a security-focused ICS developer says that

I don’t think XP’s demise changes our risk, because we already had a high level of risk because of the patching situation. We aren’t seeing a lot of attacks yet mainly because there isn’t a financial motivation for that yet. I don’t see it significantly elevating the risk because of all the other things we’re not doing.

However, the problem persists and all industrial companies working on Windows XP, no matter how large or small, need to find solutions in protecting the systems, even of such measures imply a lot of money and time to spend.