WannaCry Attack: Microsoft Could Have Released Free Anti-Ransomware Patch Earlier, Report Says
Technology giant Microsoft reportedly had the chance to release a free security update to counter the quick spread of the WannaCry ransomware but did otherwise.
In an exclusive report by the Financial Times, the Redmond, Washington, company is said to have "held back" from releasing free security updates for older versions of the Windows software.
It is believed that had the patch been made available to the public sooner, the spread of the WannaCry worm might have been slower.
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It was also noted that instead of releasing the security updates for free, Microsoft reportedly charged some customers an annual fee of $1,000 for the protection of their computers.
In response to this report, in a statement, a Microsoft representative told CNet: "Recognizing that for a variety of business reasons, companies sometimes choose not to upgrade even after 10 or 15 years, Microsoft offers custom support agreements as a stopgap measure."
The representative adds: "To be clear, Microsoft would prefer that companies upgrade and realize the full benefits of the latest version rather than choose custom support."
The company also argued that even security experts agree that getting the latest computer system is one step to having the best cyber protection. "Older systems, even if fully up-to-date, simply lack the latest protections," Microsoft concluded.
Weeks after WannaCry launched a devastating attack that affected the operations of large companies, government agencies, and institutions across the globe, cyber security company Kaspersky Lab learned that about 98 percent of the computers affected by WannaCry are running various versions of the Windows 7 software.
As per the statistics from Kaspersky Lab, 60.35 percent of the affected computers were running the 64-bit Windows 7 operating system, while the number of units running Windows XP is not as significant.
The numbers sound even more alarming considering that, according to Net Market Share, 48.5 percent of computer systems in the world still use Windows 7, while only 26.28 percent have the latest Windows 10 operating system.
