Microsoft Nigeria on Wednesday
announced July 14, 2015 as the expiry date
for its Windows Server 2003 Operating
System, which powers over 35 million
payment cards, popularly known as
Automated Teller Machine cards, currently
in circulation in the country.
The development puts the over 35 million
cards issued by Deposit Money Banks in
the country at risk of hacking by Internet
fraudsters.
The Managing Director and Country
Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. Kabelo
Makwane, who stated this at a press
conference on Wednesday announcing the
company’s end-of-support for the WS
2003 operating system, which has been in
existence for 12 years, however, said the
American company was already in
discussion with Nigerian banks and other
organisations using the OS over the
development.
According to him, talks are also on with
payment card companies like Visa and
MasterCard, which own the cards.
“We will formally end support for Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 on July 14, 2015. We
will no longer provide security updates,
technical updates and patches for the
Windows Server 2003,” Makwane said.
The Group Director, Microsoft Cloud and
Enterprise Business, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr.
Yomi Alarape, said the company was
already advising Nigerian banks and
discussions were currently ongoing on how
the lenders would migrate to the Windows
2012 or Microsoft Cloud platform within the
shortest possible time.
Alarape, who stressed that Microsoft would
not postpone the July 14 expiry date, noted
that the WS 2003 operating system had
exceeded its five-year normal product life
cycle and an extended life cycle of five
years.
He pointed out that the operating system
had been around for 12 years, exceeding
the normal 10-year life cycle.
According to the expert, it is expedient for
Nigerian banks and other affected
organisations, including government
agencies, to migrate as soon as possible
because it takes an average of 60 to 150
days for moderately large organisation to
migrate from the WS 2003 to the latest
operating systems.
“Just last year, 20 critical security updates
were released by Microsoft for users of the
WS 2003 operating system. There is no
safe haven for Window Server 2003. There
is no way we can escape the challenges.
The best thing is to migrate as soon as
possible,” Alarape added.
Apart from the risks of being hit by
hackers, the expert said banks that failed
to migrate before the July 14 date ran the
risk of being fined by the Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standards, the
global body that regulates banks and
other companies that deal with payment
cards.
He said, “Banks that deal with payment
cards issued by Visa and MasterCard may
not be compliant with the Pillar 6.2 of the
PCIDSS. Also, in terms of competiveness,
they may not be able to progress much.
“This actually provides opportunity for the
banks and other companies using WS
2003 to have a rethink about the way
they are doing their business because it
bothers on compliance, security, costs,
competiveness and other issues.”
The Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft
Nigeria, Mr. Olayinka Oni, said the
company would engage with the Central
bank of Nigeria and the banks in order to
facilitate discussions that would help the
banks to comply ahead of the July 14
deadline.
He said meetings were also going on to
help governmental organisations using WS
2003 to comply with the deadline.
“We have learnt our lessons from Window
XP. Stakeholders said the industry was not
well sensitised enough to its expiration last
year. This time, we are taking our time to
engage the high-risk areas. This is why
we are engaging the stakeholders and our
customers,” Oni said.
Findings by correspondent revealed that
none of the 20 banks in the country had
migrated to the new platform barely 116
days to the expiration date.
The mobile telephone number of the
Chairman, Committee of E-Banking Heads,
the umbrella body of heads of electronic
banking and card-related issued in banks,
Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi, was switched off
when our correspondent put a call through
to him. A text message sent to the same
number did not also deliver.
The Vice Chairman, CeBIH, Mr. Dele
Adeyinka, said the banks were already in
discussion with Microsoft and the CBN to
facilitate their migration from WS 2003
before the July 14 deadline.
Although the WS 2003 expiration date is
close, he expressed hope that all the
banks would beat the deadline.
Adeyinka said banks knew the implications
of non-compliance and none of them
would like to take such a risk.
“Banks that issue cards are PCIDSS-
certified. This certification is renewed every
year. Any bank that fails to migrate will
risk not getting its PCIDSS certification
renewed. So, no bank will want to do
that,” he said.
Credit:www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/software-upgrade-35-million-atm-cards-at-risk/