Microsoft alerts public to cyber vulnerability in older versions of Windows

Last week, Microsoft released security updates to fix a critical vulnerability in older versions of its Windows operating system, which, the company said, any future malware could exploit remotely as a worm to spread from computer to computer, similar to how the WannaCry malware spread in 2017. The vulnerability also has implications for certain medical devices, which may still be running older versions of Windows. Customers running Windows 8 and 10 are not affected, according to a blog post by the Microsoft Security Response Center. Customers running Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 with automatic updates enabled are automatically protected, while others running these versions may download the security updates. The company also has released fixes for Windows 2003 and XP, but said the best way to address the vulnerability in these older, unsupported versions is to upgrade to the latest version of Windows. The security patch is the most significant of this type issued by Microsoft since the WannaCry ransomware attacks.