Microsoft issued a “highly unusual” patch for Windows XP last month to help prevent the spread of the massive WannaCry malware.
At least 75,000 computers in 99 countries were affected by the malware which encrypts a computer and demands a $300 ransom before unlocking it.
Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP in April 2014, but the software giant took the unprecedented move of including it in the company’s Patch Tuesday round of security updates this week.
Microsoft says this move to release security updates for platforms not in extended support should not be viewed as a departure from their standard servicing policies” and that this is an exception based on intelligence that led it to believe government organisations may use these new vulnerabilities to attack Windows systems.
