The operating system has been unsupported since 2014 but the Met has 18,000 PCs running it, To be fair the police force has already started upgrading its PCs from Windows XP but have decided that upgrading Windows 8.1 is a better idea.

Windows 8.1 is still being supported by Microsoft, although the mainstream support for the OS is set to end on the 9 January 2018. Microsoft will offer extended support for the OS until 2023, which means Windows 8.1 is still a much more secure alternative for the Metropolitan Police than Windows XP.

It was trying to get all of the Windows XP PCs to Windows 8 by March 2016 but that failed. Now it is stuck with 14,000 PCs  powered by Windows 8.1 at the London Metropolitan Police service with the rest on Windows XP. Apparently there are only eight Windows 10 PCs in the building.

Steve O’Connell, the spokesman of the Conservative London Assembly said in a statement:  “The Met is working towards upgrading its software, but in its current state it’s like a fish swimming in a pool of sharks. It is vital the Met is given the resources to step up its upgrade timeline before we see another cyber-attack with nationwide security implications.”

Windows 10 still would have been the best option in terms of security, however. Microsoft is releasing security updates for the OS every month, and the new advanced security features like Windows  Defender Advanced Threat Protection makes PCs running Windows a whole lot more secure.

To put all this into perspective. Windows XP is a sitting cyber duck for hackers. If the Met fell for the “Petya” or the WannaCry software, most of London’s cops would be off-line.

If a hacker wanted to take out the Met it would be easier under Windows XP than Windows 10. The coppers have a large amount of private information about the citizens of London. If a criminal wanted to avoid arrest he or she could just delete themselves from the database and vanish.