NHS Is Still Running 2000 Window XP Computers

It has been suggested that the NHS remains running over 2000 Windows XP computer systems. The figures came in reaction to a parliamentary written question tabled with the aid of Jo Platt, the shadow Cabinet Office minister.

Parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department of Health, Jackie Doyle-Price, spoke back that the fitness service was running around 2300 XP computers as of July this yr. Platt criticized the figures as an indictment of the authorities’ failure to prioritize cybersecurity.

The NHS turned into famously stuck out through the WannaCry ransomware bug of 2017, which affected around a 3rd of trusts, led to the cancellation of an anticipated 19,000 operations and appointments and fee the £92m to smooth-up.

Experts Comments:

Paul Bischoff, Privacy Advocate at Comparitech.Com:

“Windows XP is now not supported with the aid of Microsoft, because of this it no longer receives safety updates. Using Windows XP is, consequently, a safety threat, and that’s in particular genuine for governments. Considering the damage executed through the WannaCry attack in 2017, it’s appalling that the NHS hasn’t completed upgrading its structures. Even if 2,300 computers is a small fraction of the overall, hackers only need a single factor of ingress to infect an entire community.”

Roy Rashti, Cybersecurity Exper at BitDam:

“The capacity effect of infiltrating the organization like the NHS is massive. Depending at the target business enterprise and the sophistication of its deployed defenses, adversaries may additionally gain access to a lot wider network of systems and databases that its miles linked to. The WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017, which affected more than 2 hundred,000 computer systems global such as thousands throughout the NHS, typifies the extent and severity of the harm that may result from attackers exploiting governments’ failure to update systems and hold regular security protocols. Ultimately, gaining huge get entry to to a selection of structures and databases manner get right of entry to to a more quantity of treasured records and opportunity to maximize profit or benefit robust political leverage.

All public agencies, just like those in the private sector, are liable for safeguarding their information. Having computer systems walking old operating systems together with Windows XP, which are now not supported through Microsoft, approach there are no patches available to relaxed the device. As the chance of spear-phishing grows, authorities businesses want to be proactive as opposed to reactive, in protecting their networks and systems. This calls for a complicated threat safety era that doesn’t rely on traits or beyond assaults to hit upon them but can pick out them as they maintain to evolve and iterate.”