The fact that public administrations are not always updated with the most modern systems is a daily reality. Universities, libraries, officials’ computers… Windows XP is still in the daily lives of many workers, but also in the United States government. Although surprising, a report from the Congressional Accountability Office revealed several points that need fixing, including an operating system that was launched “more than 13 years ago.” XP.
The document says that the cybersecurity department has concluded that the use of Windows XP “meets federal requirements,” as they have developed a risk strategy. However, they also warned that the program has not been fully implemented and that all systems need to be updated.
The report includes two positive points and several negative points. They emphasize positively that the roles and responsibilities of management are known, as well as the development of a strategy to prevent cybersecurity problems. On the negative side, they assure that the department’s risks are not mitigated or that continuous monitoring is done, among other problems.
It is surprising that one of the vulnerabilities is the use of outdated hardware and software. “Little updating and replacement of hardware and software that has reached the end of its life cycle,” reads the report. “The state has not adequately acquired its IT infrastructure to support the incident response program. This includes replacing 23,689 hardware systems as well as operating systems that have reached the end of their life cycles. life. Some were launched “13 years ago.”
Windows XP stopped receiving security updates in 2014. Since then, Microsoft has released Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11. The company is preparing its next operating system, which does not have a release date.
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