One of Britain’s leading spy agencies tells companies to stop using one of Microsoft’s old operating systems by Tuesday January 14 or face having growing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The UK Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ as it is more commonly known, issued the warning to not use emails or do online banking on computers running on Windows 7 as Microsoft is about to stop offering support to the outdated operative system.
The end of the support means people still using Windows 7 will face bigger and bigger digital risks the longer they use it.
“We would urge those using the software after the deadline to replace unsupported devices as soon as possible, to move sensitive data to a supported device and not to use them for tasks like accessing bank and other sensitive accounts,” a spokesperson from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), GCHQ’s public arm, told The Telegraph. “They should also consider accessing email from a different device.”
Last year, Microsoft urged people still using Windows 7 to update to Windows 10 at the same time as it announced it would end support for the old operative system.
Nevertheless, 440 million people around the world are expected to still be using the software.
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