When April 8 comes around, it seems that many ATM machines around the world would run into a particular problem, so much so that it might be a whole lot more difficult to handle compared to the relatively peaceful Y2K experience that we had 14 years ago. After all, most of the ATM machines worldwide still run on Windows XP, the operating system from Microsoft that will no longer be supported by Microsoft themselves from that date onward. BusinessWeek claims that 95% of active ATMs in the world will be powered by Windows XP, and when there is no more support from Microsoft, it would most probably mean that your ATM machine is going to be vulnerable to external hacks and the like.
Owners of the ATM machines (which would be banks most of the time) tend to run on outdated hardware which might struggle to help folks keep up with a newer OS, such as Windows 7. Suzanne Cluckey, the editor of ATM Marketplace, shared, “A lot of ATMs will have to either have their components upgraded or be discarded altogether and sold into the aftermarket—or just junked.”
Lets just hope that owners of the ATM will be able to do the necessary promptly, and this is where “better late than never” comes in.
Filed in . Read more about Microsoft and Windows Xp.