Report : World's 95% ATMs are still runs on dying Windows XP

Microsoft will soon be putting an end to their support for the Windows XP platform. Sure, you can still go ahead and use the platform, but there won’t be anymore security patches or updates. This is expected given that the software has been running for a very long time now, and we’re sure Microsoft are hoping that these customers will be upgrading to Windows 7 or Windows 8 in the meantime.

According to the Firstpost, Windows XP still powers most of the world’s ATM machines- estimated to be about 95 percent – which puts your friendly neighbourhood cash machine in grave danger of being used by hackers to steal financial data. Microsoft plans to pull plug on Windows XP on 8 April, but will continue to support its security products through July 2015. However, the company has warned, “the effectiveness of antimalware solutions on out-of-support operating systems is limited.”

This will result in millions of dollars being paid to Microsoft for additional customer support that extends beyond the dateline. It seems that there are many banks out there who have yet to upgrade and would have to pay Microsoft for additional customer support to ensure that their system stays up to date against hackers and viruses.

A spokeswoman for the company said to V3, "All Link members have fully considered, and have plans in place for dealing with the withdrawal of Windows XP support. Most will migrate to Windows 7-based ATMs, either through upgrading existing machines or replacing existing ATMs with new, Windows 7-based devices."

She added that the majority of these upgrades would take place during 2014 and 2015. "During this migration period, ATM operators will mitigate any additional risk through the use of third-party security software and/or by purchasing extended Windows XP support."