A recent survey of 500 medium and large businesses in both the UK and the US found that 34 percent are still using a combination of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

According to the survey from Bit9 + Carbon Black, an additional 10% are still running XP exclusively.

Chris Strand, PCIP, senior director of compliance and governance for Bit9 + Carbon Black,said: "More than a year after the end-of-support deadline for XP, the fact that 44 percent of companies surveyed are still using it is startling. Companies that have been running Windows XP without compensating controls—such as application control combined with continuous monitoring solutions—have been exposed to a host of possible exploits that may have allowed hackers to take advantage of the vulnerabilities associated with the unsupported machines. These vulnerabilities could lead to the compromise of companies’ critical infrastructure and loss of essential information—including customers’ personal data."

Windows XP saw end-of-life last year while Windows Server 2003 will expire in July. 14 percent of organizations running Windows Server 2003 said they had no plan to upgrade in place.

According to the report: "For many organizations, application compatibility is the biggest barrier to upgrading."

Source: SecurityWeek