By Jenifer Njoku
The federal government on Friday raised the alarm on use of Window 7 powered devices for internet banking and other services that require the transmission of sensitive data.
In a statement alerting the public, Mr. Mukhtar Sadiq, the Technical Assistant (Government Digital Services and Innovation) to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ibrahim Pantami, noted that it has become expedient for the minister to bring the development to public glare.
The statement said: “Alerting the general public on the risks of using windows 7 powered devices internet-based services that require the use of sensitive information such as internet banking.
“With the official end of support of the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System (OS) which came into effect on 14th January 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support and security or software updates for the platform. “Systems running on Windows 7 OS will continue to work, however they will be progressively more vulnerable to viruses and malware.”
The Minster, according to the statement is therefore alerting the general public on the risks of using Windows 7 powered devices for internet-based services that require the use of sensitive information such as internet banking.
According to Pantami, the best way to remain secure is to use the latest operating systems available.
He said: “We are therefore calling on all Windows 7 users to immediately implement some precautionary measures to help to protect themselves from breach of privacy and loss of critical data.
The measures according to him are: “Keeping security software up to date, keeping all other applications up to date and being more skeptical on downloads and emails accessed.
“The minister in his efforts to propagate the importance of cyber security and to ensure that cyber threats are quickly identified and contained, will from time to time alert the general public on important event and measures to ensure that people can feel safe online”