Microsoft on Saturday announced that The UK Department of Health and Social Care will transition all National Health Service (NHS) computer systems to Windows 10 to better protect against future cyber attacks.
The Department has made a security deal with Microsoft regarding the same.
According to officials, the operating system’s more advanced security features are the primary reason for the transition, such as the SmartScreen technology equipped with Microsoft Edge and Windows Defender.
One of the other reasons for upgrading their security systems was the damages caused by the WannaCry ransomware attack last year, when NHS was one of the first victims.
“More than a third of trusts in the UK were disrupted by the WannaCry ransomware attack last year, according to the National Audit Office, which led to the cancellation of 6,900 appointments. WannaCry was an international attack on an unprecedented scale that affected organisations across the globe. While it did not specifically target the NHS, the impact on health organisations was significant,” read the announcement by Microsoft.
According to Kaspersky and Microsoft telemetry, over 98 percent of all WannaCry victims were Windows 7 users.
“We have been building the capability of NHS systems over a number of years, but there is always more to do to future-proof our NHS as far as reasonably possible against this threat,” said Jeremy Hunt, the Health and Social Care Secretary. “This new technology will ensure the NHS can use the latest and most resilient software available – something the public rightly expect.”