HMS Queen Elizabeth Powered By Obsolete Software

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new £3.5b warship may be Vulnerable to cyber attacks

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Britain’s largest ever warship, the brand new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is running the outdated Windows XP operating system on her onboard computers.

The Royal Navy’s new £3.5 billion aircraft carrier appears to be using the same outdated Microsoft operating system that recently exposed the NHS to cyber-attacks.

Reporters visiting Britain’s newest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth have seen Microsoft’s obsolete Windows XP running on computers in her control room.HMS Queen Elizabeth

The 280 meters long and 70 meters wide vessel houses state of the art F-35B fighter jets on board and screens displaying outdated 2001 system software.

Russia Today reports:

It is the same software controversially used on the UK’s nuclear armed Vanguard submarines. Windows XP has not been supported by Microsoft since 2014.

In May, a massive cyberattack struck the National Health Service (NHS), which also uses the software.

During a press visit to the 65,000-tonne carrier ahead of her test launch on Monday, journalists from the Times noticed the software was in use.

If XP is for operational use, it is extremely risky,” Professor Alan Woodward, an IT expert at the University of Surrey, told the Times.

Why would you put an obsolete system in a new vessel that has a lifetime of decades?

One defense source, who told the paper the system would be refitted when the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, was launched in 2026, said: “Just think about the difference between year 2000 desktops compared with modern units.

The Navy defended the presence of the ageing system, which has not received Microsoft security updates for many years.

Commander Mark Deller, who serves aboard the Queen Elizabeth in the control center where the system was spotted, said: “The ship is well designed and there has been a very, very stringent procurement train that has ensured we are less susceptible to cyber [attacks] than most.

The news comes as it was announced the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has been told to plan to up to £20 billion ($25.5 billion) in savings over the next decade or risk losing out on major projects.

Stephen Lovegrove, the MoD permanent secretary, warned that the procurement and development of jets, submarines and tanks could also be at risk, according to the Times.HMS Queen Elizabeth

1 Comment

  1. Windows XP is NOT OBSOLETE SOFTWARE. It is far more RELIABLE and SAFER from embedded traps than anything that was produced since by Microsoft.

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