The NHS is exposing itself to a cyberattack by not updating its computers from Windows 7, it warned of new investigations.
A government report revealed that nearly three-quarters of NHS computers still use Windows 7.
This despite the fact that Windows 7 remains less than six months before Microsoft officially stops supporting the outdated operating system.
& # 39; Deeply troubling & # 39;
The news was discovered in an official response from the Ministry of Health and Social Services to MP Jo Platt, a shadow cabinet minister after raising an official parliamentary question.
"Less than six months before the expiration of support for Windows 7, it is very worrying to note that more than a million NHS computers, more than three-quarters of the time, are in use. The entire NHS computer park is still it uses this operating system, "Platt said.
Questions have been raised about the NHS 'cybersecurity capabilities since the WannaCry ransomware attack that devastated the NHS in May 2017. Estimated costs from the NHS amounted to approximately £ 92 million and 20,000 appointments had to be canceled.
Platt added: "The WannaCry cyberattack two years ago has dramatically demonstrated the dangers of using outdated software." Unless the government acts quickly and does not withdraw the lessons of its past mistakes, it runs the risk of repeating WannaCry. "
(Image credit: Microsoft)
The response from Jackie Doyle-Price, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequality and Suicide Prevention, revealed that 1.05 million NHS computers were still running Windows 7.
She said the migration process from the NHS to Windows 10 is underway: "All NHS organizations, with the exception of one of them that had already done a Windows 10 tier, have signed up to receive Windows 10 licenses and advanced threat protection ".
"The Windows 10 deployment runs smoothly and is consistent with the goal of ensuring that the NHS works with supported software when Windows 7 is no longer supported in 2020."
Microsoft is about to remove support for Windows 7 in January 2020, which means that it will no longer provide regular security updates for the software. The company said it would be willing to offer customized solutions and support packages, but that would be very expensive.
Through ZDNet