To think Microsoft is holding the NHS to ransom too ...

[doctorsassistant]

... because they routinely withdraw support for "old" operating systems (in this case Windows XP) without regard to whether their customers can afford to upgrade their systems.

[alltouchedout]

That's capitalism for you.

[user1469914265]

Yabu.

Why would company spend money to support an obsolete system. Where is the fiscal benefit to them?

[PastysPrincess]

No, because the patch which would have stopped this was available 2 months ago.

[scaryteacher]

Iirc, the upgrade to Windows 10 was free, but perhaps not for business users. Microsoft are a business, not a charity.

[Devorak]

They're a company looking to make money. XP was supported for 12 years. A very long.

Ransomware can attack any OS and infact, older ones tend to be a little more secure as they've had so many patches released. There's a severe zero day vulnerability recently discovered and currently unpatched in some Windows server operating systems at the moment.

This routinely withdrawing support is very accurate as in it is a matter of routine which everyone is aware of and whoever spent all that money in the past on the NHS-wide OS would have been very aware of this.

You're being very unreasonable and very, very clueless.

[Chloe84]

I'm annoyed that Applepay isn't available on iPhone 5. That is also forcing people to upgrade.

I won't be shelling £600 for the 6 or 7.

[thirdDozen]

PastysPrincess

Completely untrue.

threatpost.com/microsoft-releases-xp-patch-for-wannacry-ransomware/125671/

[BigChocFrenzy]

The US govt PAID Microsoft to continue XP support for key areas, e.g. for their nuclear subs

The UK govt chose not to pay for support.

Worrying because e.g. the UK Vanguard fleet - the Trident subs - run on XP
< hoping a tiny corner of the Uk defense budget quietly stretched to this. They'd be crazy not to ...>

[CrazedZombie]

Microsoft announces plans to stop supporting an OS well in advance. If the NHS can't afford Windows then it needs to look into cheaper alternatives like Linux maybe? (I don't know if Linux is used by businesses) Windows 10 was a free upgrade for home users - was it for businesses? I don't think that Microsoft is to blame at all.

[AuntMabel]

It's not Microsoft's fault that some NHS Trust's do not prioritise investment in IT. There is no standardisation of systems and hardware where it should be across the entire country.

[brasty]

The Public Sector routinely spend as little as they can on IT equipment. Staff use ancient computers in some places. This is the result.

[Wando1986]

OP, you don't work in a corporate IT dept do you? Most still run shells of previous releases that are reliable as back-ups and can be tweaked. XP was supported for over a frigging decade.

[thirdDozen]

CrazedZombie

It isn't the actual licences which cost the money. It's usually the man-hours and roll out and training.

Why would Linux be cheaper?

[RedBugMug]

what if you have systems (imaging, complex databases) that means you can't upgrade you operating system...

[TiggyMP]

"old"

Why the speech marks? It is old. Really really old. It's been out of date for 11 years.

[SacharissaCrisplock]

Nope. It's entirely the fault of the government for not renewing the support contract and also for not investing in IT infrastructure to phase out older systems (which is really not as easy as it sounds).

[cdtaylornats]

I suspect the Trident fleet isn't on the internet. Lots of real systems aren't. I worked on Air Traffic Systems and the nearest internet connection to the live system was in the next building. The ATC System didn't do email either.

[BigChocFrenzy]

Phew, thanks TD That's more reassuring !

[BigChocFrenzy]

cd ! < cleans specs >

[IreneHolmes]

Windows XP is 16 years old and obsolete. Technology has moved on and these systems are insecure and need to be upgraded as no amount of patching will properly secure it.

A system doesn't need to be on the internet to be at risk. A dropped USB with malicious code has proven to be remarkably successful.

[Doobigetta]

It isn't the work of moments to upgrade the os right across an organization, especially if they have large numbers of legacy applications that aren't compatible with the new one (I'm guessing that's the case witn the NHS. But Microsoft would extend support for a big customer if they paid for it.

[c3pu]

Yep, any system that is sensitive should be "air gapped" from the internet. People wanting bring data into the system need to have it virus checked on a separate "sheep dip" machine before it gets put onto the sensitive network.

This mitigates the risk of running less secure operating systems.

[EngTech]

If I see the words, Government and IT in the same sentence experience has shown me it ends in tears and you pay through the nose for it.

Perhaps this might be the wake up call that is needed but not easy to upgrade, patch multi linked systems though to be fair

[scaryteacher]

Think about it Bigchoc The Trident delivery system is a submarine. Submarines spend most of their time under the water. I am not aware that one can access broadband when dived, and I'm pretty sure that 4g isn't available at the depths at which a boat will operate. A boat needs to remain undetected which is why any transmissions are done in very quick bursts at periscope depth.

[PeterhouseMS]

scaryteacher, it's naive in the extreme to assume that because the system isn't attached to broadband that it is safe.

Stuxnet (targeted Iran's nuclear power program, ruining almost one fifth of its nuclear centrifuges.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet#Windows_infection