Maybe it is now the time for a major review of the NHS Microsoft software dependency and should seriously consider switching to Linux based software.
Here is the BBC news update about the NHS Cyber attack:
"NHS trusts 'ran outdated software'
Some who have followed the issue of NHS cyber security are sharing a report from the IT news site Silicon, which reported last December that NHS trusts had been running outdated Windows XP software.
The website says that Microsoft officially ended support for Windows XP back in April 2014, meaning it was no longer fixing vulnerabilities in the system - except for clients that paid for an extended support deal.
The UK government initially paid Microsoft £5.5 million to keep providing security support - but the website adds that this deal ended in May 2015."
Upgrading to a new version of Windows was apparently not possible, which also means that upgrading to a new Linux version would also have been out of the books.
So the only solution would have been to hire someone to backport whatever fix was needed.
An open source update can be audited much more easily than a closed source update. It is also usually possible, with OSSW, to find the discussion where the software's developers proposed various solutions, and debated their merits and risks.
Here is the BBC news update about the NHS Cyber attack:
"NHS trusts 'ran outdated software'
Some who have followed the issue of NHS cyber security are sharing a report from the IT news site Silicon, which reported last December that NHS trusts had been running outdated Windows XP software.
The website says that Microsoft officially ended support for Windows XP back in April 2014, meaning it was no longer fixing vulnerabilities in the system - except for clients that paid for an extended support deal.
The UK government initially paid Microsoft £5.5 million to keep providing security support - but the website adds that this deal ended in May 2015."