Security News > 2021 > April > Windows XP makes ransomware gangs work harder for their money
Windows XP reached its end of life on April 8th, 2014, and even though it no longer receives security updates, more people use XP than Windows Vista, according to StatCounter and BleepingComputer's website visitor stats.
According to StatCounter, Windows XP is used by 0.84% of the people running Windows, doubling Windows Vista's current usag.
Similar percentages are seen with BleepingComputer's visitors, with Windows XP being more commonly used today than Windows Vista.
If an organization uses Windows XP and a ransomware attack encrypts the device, it now falls on the threat actors to support the operating system if they want to get paid.
When we asked Emsisoft CTO and ransomware expert Fabian Wosar why a ransomware gang would create a dedicated Windows XP decryptor, we were told it is likely due to lack of support for the operating system in modern compilers.
"Visual Studio 2019 no longer can compile for Windows XP. They need to use Visual Studio 2017 and an old XP compiler to build for XP.".
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