Windows XP is still used in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, despite the fact that it has not had security support for five years
The Spanish Congress of Deputies uses Windows XP on its computers, which has not been supported for five years and this is a serious security problem.
Security is one of the great shortcomings in companies and in public administrations. But the companions of eldiario.es they have discovered something that cries out to heaven. The computer equipment of the Congress of Deputies makes use of Windows XP. This is a serious security problem, since for five years this operating system no longer receives the slightest support.
Windows XP was one of Microsoft's most successful operating systems, present on millions of computers. It was very popular and malicious attackers, or 'crackers', attacked it en masse to look for security holes. Although it has not received updates for five years and represents a great security vulnerability, it is still used in the Congress of Deputies.
Despite lacking support for years, Windows XP is used in the Congress of Deputies
Using this operating system in 2019 is a serious security problem. We can be attacked with any type of virus, Trojan, liked or any other malware that we want. This means that any information contained can be easily stolen.
"The computer services of Congress are fully aware of the security problems derived from the use of Windows XP and treat them accordingly," comments a source from Congress to eldiario.es. This serious risk forces the technicians to monitor the systems at all times, with the extra cost it entails.
“The computers integrated in the seats operate in a network environment completely isolated from the rest of the Congress network and are centrally managed through a platform for this purpose that does not allow configuration changes to be made by end users and that allows to revert almost instantaneously any alteration in their software ”, specify the sources.
Other sources ensure that these computers are connected to the internet. But in addition, they are connected in a local network with the team of the deputies in their office to access the documents they have stored there. Something that is seen in the 'dispatch' icon that can be seen in some shots.
From the Congress and some deputies they assure that: "The only noteworthy function of these devices is to serve as a system for the visualization of the data of the seat and voting results"
These days, it is surprising by the images of the deputies uploaded to networks, that the @Congress still use an outdated OS not supported by your manufacturer: Windows XP#cybersecurity #InvestitureSession #SessionInvestidura #tictacinvestiduraspv #InvestiduraRTVE # InvestitureRTVE23j pic.twitter.com/uqY7dHIxXy
- Security and Defense (@SegDef) July 23, 2019
Completely obsolete equipment
The computer equipment was interspersed in 2006, when Manuel Marín was president of the Chamber. After thirteen years of use and taking into account its hardware, its usability is very limited. To replace them, the wooden structure of the 350 seats would have to be removed.
Sergio Carrasco, an expert lawyer in data protection and cybersecurity, assures that using Windows XP on such critical systems “is a great risk because many forms of attack that affect XP simply need to have some type of vulnerable device on the network to enter and then they are replicated, infecting other teams "
