Banks Rush To Upgrade ATMs From Windows XP

Hackers could have a field day if most of the banks in the U.S. don’t upgrade their ATMs prior to April 8th. That’s the cutoff date that Microsoft has set for Windows XP, and after that, it is no longer going to provide support for the iconic iteration of Windows. This means that there won’t be any new updates, and certainly no security patches or bug fixes. End of support will not only leave consumer PCs out in the open, it will also make ATMs vulnerable, unless banks step up and upgrade them as soon as possible.

Its not like only a small percentage ATMs in the country need to be upgraded. It is estimated that over 95 percent of all ATMs in the country are powered by Windows XP, roughly 200,000, so you can imagine the scale at which any potential attack can be launched after XP reaches its cutoff date. Since they’re the responsibility of the banks, they must get it done before April 8th.

It is believed that some banks are even in talks with Microsoft to extend security support for their machines. End up support actually affects more than just ATMs, dozens of companies, both big and small, in the U.S. and around the world are running entire systems based on Windows XP. So its essential for each and every machine to be upgraded once the cutoff date passes so as to ensure safety and security of users and their data.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Microsoft, windows xp