Despite the government's target to upgrade all PCs and laptops to Windows 10 by January this year, almost half a million NHS computers are still running Windows 7. Windows 7 reached the end of its useful life last month and the outdated operating system will no longer receive security patches for newly discovered security vulnerabilities or vulnerabilities. In April 2018, the UK Department of Health and Welfare signed an agreement with Microsoft that allowed NHS organizations to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. However, the agreement required all of their Windows 7 PCs to upgrade to Windows 10 no later than January 14, 2020, as Windows 7 would no longer be supported after this date. This deadline is over, but according to government figures at least a third of NHS PCs are still running Windows 7.
Extended support
Of the 1.37 million PCs and laptops used by the NHS, at least 463,784 are still running Windows 7, although Microsoft now offers extended support for these devices. Currently only 587,351 PCs are running Windows 10 and a few thousand are still running Windows 8. Additionally, 318,000 machines are running a version of Windows without extended support of Microsoft Active Threat Protection. If these devices are running a version of Windows that is no longer supported, they could be vulnerable to any new software defects or bugs found. In a statement, NHS Digital explained that its remaining Windows 7 devices will be upgraded before the end of Microsoft's extended support period in 2021, stating: "Support from Microsoft exists for devices running Windows 7, across all NHS organisations, until 14 January 2021. Migration to Windows 10 is a process that will vary depending on the specific needs of the user. We are working closely with the NHS to offer to migrate to Windows 10 and are in the process of completing this before the end of the period of extended support." via ZDNet