MS to stop Windows XP support

By Kim Yoo-chul

Kim Myung-ho, a senior executive at Microsoft Korea, speaks during a briefing on the company’s decision to end support for Windows XP platform at its main office in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Microsoft Korea

The Korean unit of U.S.-based software giant Microsoft said Monday that it will no longer provide technical solutions to Windows XP and Office 2013 software beginning April 8, 2014, because of their vulnerability to cyber attacks.

“Windows XP is unable to offer a safe platform and meet demand for sophisticated Web-based services,” Microsoft Korea said in a press release.

The statement is regarded as “blackmailing” XP users because the end of service for XP means they will have to buy later versions of the Windows operating system.

Spokeswoman Adecco Lee said XP and Office 2003 were great software when they were released.

“However, there have been changes in the technology environment. People’s needs and expectations also change and evolve.” The firm urged customers to adopt advanced software.

Usually, Microsoft guarantees a five-year after-sales (AS) policy to general customers. It supports an additional five-year service for corporate clients.

XP users have received 12 years of service, which the company believes is “exceptional.”

Citing high usage rates for XP software in South Korea, MS Korea’s chief security officer Shin Jong-hoe told reporters that banks and financial institutions especially should upgrade their operating systems before it’s too late.

“Before the end of support of the XP platform, updates should be completed to strengthen security and counter cyber crimes,” Shin said.

Leading local banks including Kookmin Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, may shift to an advanced platform from the latter half of this year.

StatCounter, a market research firm, said that Korea has the highest penetration rate of the XP system with 14.9 million PCs using the platform. The penetration ratio is 32.9 percent, and the global average of 23.4 percent.

Attention is being paid to whether the shutdown of the XP system will give new momentum to the global PC market.

Microsoft is struggling due to decreasing demand for conventional PCs as consumers shift to tablets and smartphones.

Executives at major consumer electronics companies recently slashed Microsoft as its operating systems have so far failed to boost the demand for PCs.

“We don’t expect the shutdown of the XP system to significantly boost PC demand. It will have some impact, but it will be short-lived,’’ said Kim Il-tae, a fund manager at Taurus Investment in Seoul.