[RoosterRedux]

XP is a stable platform and I imagine they have adapted it to their needs.

The UK doesn't need MS updates if they can provide them on their own.

The U.S. still uses floppy disks...can the U.K. be any worse.

[pfflier]

The U.S. still uses floppy disks...

If that is in reference to the Minuteman system it has worked fine since 1961 and is absolutely impervious to hacking or intrusion. It just ain't sexy and overpriced.

[Gunslingr3]

XP is a stable platform and I imagine they have adapted it to their needs.

Stable in the sense MS no longer patches it, but that shouldn't be mistaken for secure.

The UK doesn't need MS updates if they can provide them on their own.

With wannacry sweeping through NHS machines you think maybe they're not making their own? I wonder how many of the NSA tools floating on the web would run right now on that ships OS.

[DeltaZulu]

They can’t unless they’ve contracted the source code from MS. I seriously do not understand why they didn’t use Linux. All of the source is available for free. And had they started with a respected distro like Debian, they could fairly easily re-platform what ever systems on the current release.

[Garth Tater]

The UK doesn't need MS updates if they can provide them on their own.

If they don't have the resources to upgrade from such an out of date operating system then they certainly don't have the resources to identify the holes in XP and patch them. XP is still in wide use around the world and hackers are hard at work every day finding new ways to get in to it.