Windows XP Steals the Spotlight in US Presidential Election

One of the candidates in the U.S. Presidential race recently brought their doctor into the spotlight after citing a glowing health report in a letter regarding their own health. While this letter garnered quite a bit of attention for the candidate, the attention the story brought Dr. Harold Bornstein some scrutiny as well; under which it was revealed that the doctor still runs Windows XP.

That’s right, Windows XP. Support for which ended in the spring of 2014.

Windows XP users should upgrade to a current OS as soon as possible. The common sentiment in the world of IT is that XP is unprotected from threats. This is due to the fact that since the system has not received support updates from Microsoft for all of these years, a system running XP has no defense against new threats.

In light of this, it has come into question as to whether or not Bornstein is in dissent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. If he is found to be so, the good doctor could face fines potentially reaching as high as $1.5 million. Considering all doctors were supposed to be fully compliant to updated HIPAA regulations in 2013, this certainly doesn’t cast a very favorable light upon Bornstein’s medical practice.

Although, Ornstein could technically be in the clear. This is because, rather than set minimums for operating systems to meet, HIPAA demands that the information systems meet a particular baseline when they contain electronic copies of protected health information, which Windows XP apparently does.

Regardless, to run Windows XP (or any outdated software solution, for that matter) is to court disaster. With no support against the more highly evolved contemporary threats outdated software will face, your system will simply not have defenses needed to protect your data from attacks.

Time will only tell if Dr. Bornstein ultimately updates his systems before disaster strikes, or if his (and his presidential campaigning patients’) information is shared with the world. Meanwhile, to protect your business with these and other best practices, give SCW a call at (509) 534-1530. With consistently updated solutions, SCW can help you make sure your critical IT concerns are seen to.