London’s Metroplitan Police force is still running tens of thousands of Windows XP machines, potentially putting it at a greater risk of cyber-attack, it has emerged.
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In a written statement to Conservative London Assembly member, Andrew Boff-who raised concerns about the aged OS-Khan said: “The MPS are developing further plans to address the outstanding XP desktops including reducing the overall number and disposing of equipment that can not support Windows 8.1”.
Support for the OS finally ended back in April 2014, leaving Scotland Yard open to all sorts of unregulated malware and viruses.
This initial deal ended in April a year ago.
Boff went on to say that the fact 27,000 Met police computers are still using the OS is “worrying”. Over the past year, they bumped approximately 8,000 machines from Windows XP to Windows 8.1.
“My major concern is the security of Londoners’ information on this dangerously out-of-date system, but I would also like to know how much money the Met have wasted on bespoke security updates”.
“Most organisations have less than half a dozen Windows XP computers, or none at all”, said Justin Harvey, CSO at Fidelis Cybersecurity.
Windows 10 was released by Microsoft past year, and has since received its first major update, the Anniversary Update, which is the newest version of the software available.
“I also question the choice to upgrade to Windows 8.1; this is neither the newest version of Windows nor the most used version of the software”.
Replacements or remediation for this software, which are compatible with a more modern operating system, have to be ready before the roll-out is completed to ensure continued operational effectiveness.
A spokesperson for the Met police told SC,”The MPS is undergoing a complete refresh of its information technology processes, infrastructure, and equipment – including its desktop computers”.
The report claims the Met now is paying £1.65 million of taxpayer’s money for an extended support agreement with Microsoft unti April 2017.
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Mr. Boff is now urging the Met to shift its focus to upgrading to Windows 10, Microsoft’s latest release, which offers far more up-to-date service.
