Nearly half of UK and US enterprises are still using Windows XP despite Microsoft ending support for the operating system around a year ago, according to new research from Bit9 + Carbon Black.
The endpoint security firm surveyed IT leaders at 500 medium and large firms and found 44% are using the out-of-date OS, for which Microsoft withdrew support on 8 April last year.
This is not only exposing these organizations to an increased risk of cyber-attack but it could be costing a fair amount of extra cash too.
Microsoft customer support costs for XP endpoints are set to double to $400 per computer from this month, Bit9 + Carbon Black claimed.
To make matters worse, many of the respondents said they were also running soon-to-be-retired Windows Server 2003 OS.
In total, one third (34%) of IT leaders said they had both operating systems still up and running in their organization.
Bit9 + Carbon Black is estimating that around 2.7 million servers will be at risk after 14 July, when support for Windows Server 2003 is withdrawn.
Many firms delay migration either through poor planning, or because they’re running legacy applications on the underlying OS which aren’t supported on newer versions.
In those cases it’s always recommended that they take steps to put in place additional security controls to mitigate the risk of cyber-attack.
Chris Strand, Bit9 + Carbon Black senior director of compliance and governance, argued that continuous monitoring is vital in these environments.
“Total real-time visibility over all endpoint devices with XP installed is essential in order to detect and respond quickly to the threats that have emerged since the end-of-life deadline passed. Having total visibility over all endpoints, and the ability to prevent and alert on any suspicious activity, is critical,” he told Infosecurity.
“This approach will not only allow organizations to detect breaches faster, but the replay will allow them to track attackers’ ‘kill chain’ to better understand the level of risk exposure and defend against future threats.”