ATMs will still run Windows XP –but a bigger shift in security looms

By | March 9, 2014

ATMs will still run Windows XP –but a bigger shift in security looms

The vast majority of bank ATMs around the world currently run on Windows XP. Come April 8, when Microsoft cuts off support for Windows XP, the vast majority of those bank ATMs will still be running XP. While there’s some cause for concern, it’s much too early to cut up your debit card. That said, Microsoft’s hell-bent determination to kill off the operating system will encourage many banks to consider non-Windows solutions.

In January there was a rash of hand-wringing stories about the coming demise of Windows XP and how that would affect the many hundreds of thousands of ATMs — somewhere between 80 percent and 95 percent of all ATMs, depending on what source you believe — still running XP and being swapped out at a snail’s pace. Lately I’ve seen more articles that raise red flags. For example, CNN Money says:

‘If banks fail to upgrade their ATMs to a newer version of Windows by April, customers might be at risk. If hackers discover new flaws in Windows XP, those bugs will go unaddressed, leaving attackers free to exploit them.’

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