Termination of technical support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems (OS) can become a serious problem for Russian banks. According to the architect of the Microsoft technology center in Russia, Ivan Budylin, now, banks are required to quickly switch to Windows 10, since working without technical support is contrary to information security requirements. He added that the lack of updates can lead to significant risks of data loss.
At the same time, according to the survey, credit institutions are not yet ready to completely abandon the old OS.
Some banks reported that they had signed an agreement with Microsoft for paid additional support for Windows 7 (EAS). However, the expert noted that paid support is not an alternative to updating the operating system, but a temporary measure.
A similar situation was already with the Windows XP operating system, which was not supported in 2017 but continued to be used. During WannaCry ransomware virus epidemic, some XP users faced a situation where the malware appeared on the computer, was blocked and deleted by the antivirus.
However, then the virus repeatedly tried to get into the computer again and was blocked again. This caused a huge load on the network, processor, and disk. The devices started working so slowly that it was almost impossible to do anything on them.
Therefore, experts recommended updating Windows 7 as soon as possible, even though antiviruses can protect an already unsupported system.
Yuri Brisov, a member of the Commission on legal support of the digital economy, said that by denying the ability to regularly and timely update systems, banks put their customers at risk, which is unacceptable.
According to Boris Yedidin, a lawyer and co-founder of Moscow Digital School, for using outdated programs and operating systems, banks can bring to administrative responsibility under the article “Violation of information protection rules”.
Recall that Microsoft has refused to support the Windows 7 operating system since January 14. The computer will work with the old OS, but the company does not provide technical support for any software updates, as well as security updates and fixes.