Putin uses Windows XP in 2019, not caring about all the security risks
Using an operating system that has not been supported for several years is definitely risky, even more, if your name is Vladimir Putin, and you are the President of the Russian Federation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the most exposed people in the world. Yet, despite any idea of security, it seems that he is not interested in stopping using Windows XP despite the fact that the operating system has not been supported for years. Some official photos show that Putin uses Windows XP in at least two different locations in the Kremlin. The situation, much it makes you smile, is a bit more complex and deserves to be explained.
Open Media, an independent Russian website sympathizing with the opposition, has noted in some official reports that the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin still uses Windows XP today in 2019. Public and official photos spread without feeling any shame.
Officials and government agencies around the world often end up getting stuck with outdated technology because of not so much budget but bureaucracy, but in any case, the lack of support makes Windows XP an obvious security risk. Microsoft does not recommend their use since 2014.
In Russia, switching to a new operating system is not just a bureaucratic nuisance, but an almost impractical thing. Officials cannot use foreign software, and Windows XP is the latest Microsoft operating system in chronological terms certified for internal government use.
Windows 10 can be used on machines that do not contain state secrets, but on all machines containing sensitive data, the only option is to stay with Windows XP or switch to a new Russian-owned alternative.
The Russian alternative is Astra Linux, but the plan to switch to domestic software – complete with Yandex as a search engine – has not yet been fully perfected. Windows XP, remains at least on two of the stations in the Kremlin, despite the warning to abandon the platform by 2016.
The security risk is partly averted by the fact that Putin has repeatedly called himself opposed to the Internet, a project considered to be owned by the CIA. To date, the goal by the Russian government is to have 80 percent of PC running Astra Linux by the end of this year.
