IT Teams Have One Year to Move Off Windows 7

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has urged organizations still on Windows 7 to plan now for the end of extended support in a year’s time. The GCHQ arm reminded IT managers that the operating system will no longer receive free updates from January 14 2020. That will mean any machines still running then could be exposed to a greater risk of malware, and potentially unreliable systems. The NCSC drew parallels with the end-of-support for Windows XP in 2014. “It wasn’t long after that before exploitation of the final version of the platform became fairly widespread. Malware can spread much more easily on obsolete platforms because, without security updates, known vulnerabilities will remain unpatched. As a result, it’s crucial to move away from them as quickly as possible,” it explained. “We know there are costs involved in keeping up to date. However, doing so is one of the most effective ways of keeping your networks and devices secure - this is why planning your upgrades far in advance is especially important.”